Beyond Men And Monsters
by The Coolest Man
Summary: "An endless breath whispered in his ear, his own became so thick he felt like his lungs were being pressed together by concrete blocks. Behind the mother, a mildly charred map of Outworld hung, its size without equal, its only true blemish being the dragon's shadow cast upon it."
1. I-I: Brave New World

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter I**

 **Brave New World**

* * *

The clouds rolled over the city, the blizzard painting the streets white with a thick layer of snow. The wind whisked past the buildings, howling in the dark of the night. Chronos kept his hand in front of his face to try and walk through the hail of snow. He'd been warned not to leave the building when the storm washed over the city, but he'd ignored them, even when Alex was tugging on his sports bag to keep him from going.

Chronos kept marching on, his grey shoes sinking away in the snow. He was glad he had brought three layers of clothing, or otherwise he would have been a freezing pop-sicle standing on the curb, facing the snow like a chump. He was always more keen of winter, mainly because he'd find the soothing cool air a welcome gift after a tough workout. In the summer, he would feel like a chocolate bar stuck in the wrapper, left on a counter to melt in the sun. But this time, winter was not his favourite season.

He rounded a corner, to see a taxi stuck in the snow, with two people at the trunk trying to push the cab forward. He could see the cab driver visibly pushing against the steering wheel, even through the whirlwinds of snow, the wheels of the cab hopelessly rolling in place while two people, probably a couple, pushed with all their might. He looked at them, one hand far in his pocket, and gave them a quick wave. They looked back and pointed their fingers at him, seemingly whispering to each other. He was confused, because he looked around and found nobody walking in this street beside him. All he saw was some lantern posts, barely shining through the storm, an alleyway and the facets of the stories of apartments spanning the length of this street.

Chronos stumbled on a bus stop, and decided it might be best to take a quick break. He slung his bag from his shoulder on the ground and began wiping some of the snow from his face and out of his hair. His coat was black, but was now a dirty white from all the damn snow, and his gloves felt like the had spent an hour in the freezer. He removed the gloves to shake the snow from them, whipped his scarf to do the same and wiped the rest of the snow from his pants.

He noticed a single man to his left, speed-walking through the storm, clad in a neat suit, or what used to be a neat suit before he was caught in the blizzard. He gave him a quick wave as well, but he didn't respond. The suit passed him by, neither of them acknowledging the other, but once the suit had walked past him, he kept glancing over his shoulder. While he was straightening his scarf out, Chronos wondered why everyone kept glaring at him. Maybe his hair was styled more wickedly than usual.

He put his gloves on, threw his scarf back around his neck, picked up his bag and began to face the storm again. He caught his body casting a shadow, but the source wasn't one of the lamp posts from around the street. It came from behind him, and when he turned around, he saw but a glimmer of light emerging from the alleyway he'd passed. The cab was already far enough so he couldn't see it, and there were no more people around to see what came from the alleyway.

Part of him tried to keep him from going into the alley and possibly running into some sort of elaborate trap set up by robbers to lure in stupid kids that didn't know any better. On the other hand, said robbers never did get the drop on him, and when police came around to ask him why the robbers had several broken bones, he usually shrugged it off, claiming self-defence.

In the end, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to approach the alleyway without too much concern for the snow being pelted into his face. He stood in front of the alley, sporting his bag, staring into the dark. He could see nothing but a few garbage bags and cardboard boxes strewn about, with nothing else behind the borders of shadow. His mind was boggled, but he guessed his mind got the better of him. He was about to turn back around when he caught a sudden ball of light spawn from nowhere.

Chronos was frozen on the spot, his eyes fixating on the orb, small bolts of lightning circling around it. His perplexed state made him unaware of a single electric branch slithering to him, snaking around his leg. It pulled his leg from underneath him, making him come crashing down to earth and landing with an almost inaudible poof. He was stunned for a short while, until he noticed he was being dragged towards the orb, now quite great in size, man-sized to be exact.

He desperately began to claw at anything in sight, but cardboard boxes and powdery snow were nothing short of useless to him to keep him from becoming a grilled steak. He yelled his lungs out, but the empty streets did not answer, and everything he did hear was the howling winds. He began tried to keep his head clear, but he couldn't pull himself away from thinking he'd be burnt to a crisp if he didn't free himself.

He saw his leg disappearing in the whirling vortex, but instead of searing pain, he felt his leg dangling on the other end. This relieved him for about half a second before he realised that he would now be stranded in the middle of nowhere, be it ten feet from here or across the globe. His entire bottom half was now sucked up by the solar ball and he saw no other option than to hope he wouldn't end up too far from known lands. He closed his eyes and waited for his form to stop moving. After an agonizing few seconds, he felt his body falling. Before he opened his eyes, he hit the ground hard, the back of his head hitting the dirt with enough force to knock him out cold.

* * *

With a groan and a painful tightening of his muscles, Chronos rolled around what seemed to be a forest floor, dirt and leaves stuck in his coat, which were moist as well. But it wasn't cold, to the contrary, it was quite a soothing spring temperature. He opened his eyes to see a dark and starry sky, free from clouds, even small strands of galactic material across the void of space. He lifted himself up, rubbing the back of his head, still a bit sore from his impact with the floor.

He moved every limb on his body to look whether he had bruised anything, but the worst he could feel was a slight sting somewhere in his side, but it barely hampered his movement. He looked around to see what had come with him through the mysterious orb, but he didn't spot his sports bag anywhere. He didn't remember whether it had slipped loose of his grasp or not, but in all honesty, he was far more worried about the dense forest around him, with a small gap here and there.

Chronos had discarded his scarf and gloves, also wet from the forest floor, and his coat as well, seeing no reason to keep it unless he wanted to catch a lung infection. Hopping through one of the gaps in the dense flora, he almost battled his way through the forest jungle, his eye barely catching a snake three times his length. He struggled through the mud and trees and godforsaken animals every second up until he could see a spark of light in the corner of his eye.

He marched to it, his feet weighing him down and his grey shirt now so dirty it might as well be mistaken for coal black. The spark of light was moving as well, and their numbers were growing, so his hopes grew. Maybe they'd be hostile cannibals, but the chances of meeting cannibals were so low he didn't worry about it. He stopped just a few yards short from the lights and found a favourable position to peek from the shadows. He saw a great carriage, purple in colour, lined with gold, as well as what seemed to be guards in that same fashion.

Chronos tried to recollect whether there were any cultures or military forces in the world that sported purple and gold armour, but his mind failed him, so he decided to play it safe and wait for them to pass. A small group of people, he guessed no more than twenty, followed the carriage, a few holding torches. After the lights had died down, he stepped from the thick foliage, wiping off his face, shirt and pants, not bothering with his shoes.

He walked over the road, a fantastic marble one, as broad as a barn, towards the direction the carriage was going. His feet were whining, his soles aching with every step, but he pushed through, hoping he could find a place to rest. He did find a small camp set up alongside the road, about half a mile away, with a few tents and dozens of people out, torches lit to reveal the forms of the crowd. He marched closer when he heard a faint rustling in the bushes. He quickly dashed away behind some foliage to see a group of people, clad in leather and armed with swords and axes, speeding towards the camp. The people in the camp were caught by surprise, and the group of what he assumed to be bandits by now quickly rounded them up. He watched from the bushes, seeing this display of cowardice unfold.

"Spread out and loot, boys," one of them said. He wore a different helm, not a leather one, but one that resembled a skull of an animal, though he couldn't discern what kind of animal, "see what these people have on them."

"Sir, please," one of the hostages pleaded. A woman with long black hair, flowing don just past her shoulder, "we have little to spare. We ask of you to take whatever you find and leave us be."

"Ha!" another one laughed, wielding a hand-axe, "you think we're just here for your stuff? Oh no, we've got so much better plans for the people around here, especially pretties like you."

One of the bandits came up behind her and stroked her cheek, and the woman flinched a slight bit at his touch. One of the hostages, a man somewhere in the back, went to stand up and make sure that hand was going to be reduced to dust. But their leader, he supposed, conjured up a fireball, and the man immediately froze.

"You think you can do anything?" he taunted, "Boy, you're in for a treat if you try me."

The man was hesitant, but sank down to his knees again after he was certain the gang of bandits would be on him before their leader would chuck his fireball. The rest of the bandits, who were done scouting along the tents and small bags spread out over the camp, tossed the other bandits the loot.

"Round up the women and let's get out of here," he said, fireball still floating in his hand. A few bandits began binding the hands together of the hostages. Afterwards, they singled out the women and lifted them to their feet, struggling a bit before they complied. Chronos wanted to move a bit behind the bushes to make sure they didn't see him, but he tripped over his own feet and the branches beneath his feet cracked under the pressure. He could see all of the bandits snapping their eyes at his location, but they didn't seem to be too worried.

"Go check that out," their skull-faced leader ordered. One of them, armed with a single mace, lazily meandered over to the spot he was hiding. He now had to choose between knocking this guy unconscious and running as far as he could, or going toe-to-toe with about six bandits, of which one of them could apparently throw fire. When the bandit was within choking range, he decided to do the last, despite not knowing how much the bandits could do.

When the bandit leaned over the bush, he grabbed him by the collar and slung him over the bush, with the rest seemingly unaware of the peril their colleague found himself in. With a small inhale, presumably to yell something, he was knocked out by a quick elbow to the head. Chronos sneaked away from his current position to try and surprise the criminals from behind. Their skull-faced leader turned around to see nothing but bushes and branches.

"Hey buddy!" he shouted, "Did you trip over the branches?!"

When he received no response from his underling, their leader gestured towards the bushes, two of his henchmen making their way to the bushes with their weapons at the ready. At the same time, Chronos silently sneaked behind two other bandits, who were occupied with keeping the hostages in line. Once the two henchmen reached the bush and saw their friend out cold, Chronos shot from behind the tents, catching the two underlings guarding the hostages off-guard. The first one was put down with a well placed palm to the temple, while the other one was blasted from his feet with a powerful ball of energy.

The skull-faced leader turned around to see his companions down with their faces in the dirt, with an oddly dressed man standing just behind their motionless bodies. The two bandits at the bushes sprinted towards him, but neither of them could dodge Chronos' potent projectiles, throwing them with their backs first on the dirt. Their leader was not pleased, to say the least.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he yelled, swinging his sword towards the foreigner, but he was granted no answer to his question. He decided that talking was not the solution, so he charged Chronos', sword at the ready. He slashed at the foreigner with a few ridiculously overextending swings. He was easily disarmed by a quick tap to the bottom of his elbow, but the skull-faced leader did not quit swinging in his direction. Chronos' could swear ruthless bandits would be more adept in martial arts. Hell, he'd fought people with no official training whatsoever who stood more of a chance than this poor man, still swinging at Chronos with no intent of rethinking his life choices.

He'd come to the conclusion that these people had been terrorised enough by these inept bandits, so with the next swing of their leader, he grabbed his arm and pulled him along, picking up speed until he had enough momentum to lift him up in the air and slam him down on the dirt with enough force to break one of his ribs. He wasn't out yet, but Chronos resolved that with a fist to the face, turning half of the bony mask into shards. The hostages wasted no time to untie each other and tie the hands and feet of the bandits to keep them from running off.

Chronos was about to leave when one of them, the black haired woman, approached him with a kind smile, arms crossed underneath her bosom.

"I must thank you, stranger," she began, "you selflessly saved us with with for your own life."

"Thank you, ma'am," Chronos thanked, his voice rumbling in her chest even.

"That is kind of you to say, sir," she thanked, "and if there's anything we can do for you, we are more than willing to assist," she offered.

"Well," Chronos started, eyeing his filthy clothes, "I could use a new pair of clothes."

"We will try to find you new clothes, sir," she said, "but we are afraid we might not find anything in your size."

He did stand taller than every person here, save maybe one single man, but the guy was quite skinny for his height. Chronos himself was at least twice as broad in almost every appendage when he looked at even the strongest around the camp. He nodded towards the woman, who sped off to find him some clothing. After a minute or five, most of his time spent fidgeting with his fingers and rolling a coin he found on the floor over his indexes, the woman came back with what looked like ragged pants, a leather cloak, a single thick rope and a small pouch.

"I apologise sir," she started, frowning all the while, "but this is all we could find."

He took the bunched up clothing and looked at their size. The clothes seemed large enough, and he assumed she had grabbed the rope to keep the pants for sinking beneath his ankles. He nodded to the kind woman and walked behind one of the tents to find the pants just about the right size and length, and the cloak was wide enough to wear comfortably. He used the rope to fasten the leather pants, and he tied the pouch, which he deduced to be filled with money. It was quite a nice aesthetic, all the leather apparel resembling an elder martial artists turned hermit, living deep in the Alps.

He emerged from behind the tent, and the woman was almost perplexed by his sheer size. Chronos stood awfully tall, nearly six and a half foot, and his muscled form easily dwarfed that of any man she had seen in the last years. Most of all, however, she noticed his tattoo on his right arm. The tattoo seemed to be of two dragons, snaking around his arm, one of them snow white and one of them night black, with their eyes appearing to be inverted colours.

She kept staring, with a few of the other men and women fixated on his form as well. He didn't mind though.

"Ma'am?" he asked, pulling her out of her trance, "I appreciate the clothing. Would you mind if I stay for the night? I'm not exactly familiar with this place."

"Oh, of course, sir!" she said, clearly caught with her eyes wandering over his body, "We don't have a place in the tent to settle you. We could make some room if one of us-"

"Do you have a spare blanket?" he interrupted her.

"Yes, we do." she answered.

"Then I wouldn't mind staying the night outside," he assured her, "I have already been granted much kindness from you people, I don't need to invade on your privacy."

"If you wish, sir." she said, before leaving him to his own devices. After a while, a small group of guards, no more than fifteen, showed up, clad in purple and gold armour, their halberds gripped tight, held up so they would stand higher than their wielder. They pulled the bandits to their feet and took them away, with two of the guards going around the camp to seemingly ask questions, and after fifteen minutes, they arrived at him.

"Excuse me, sir," one of them asked. He sounded quite young, and his helmet wobbled on his head, "We've been informed by the others in this camp that you subdued the bandits attacking this camp by yourself. Do you mind if we ask how?"

"Lady Luck was on my side, I guess," he joked, but the younger guard only seem confused.

"Do you have a Goddess for luck?" the younger one asked, but the older one quickly intervened before the youngster could ask more idiotic questions.

"My apologies, sir," he said, "My companion here is on his first day and he is quite… inquisitive. My name is Bryant, and my companion's name is Eric."

"Nice to meet you" Chronos greeted, extending his hand, "Don't worry about your questions too much. I won't mind."

The younger guard was about to open his mouth to fire, but his companion was ahead of him.

"I would want to ask you a few questions," Bryant said, simultaneously shaking Chronos' hand, "You see, it's odd to meet an Earthrealmer so far from his home. How did you manage to arrive in Edenia?"

All Chronos could do was flutter his eyelids at the question. He had no idea why they would refer to Earth as Earthrealm, or what Edenia was. The guards seemed to catch on quick that he was not familiar with those terms.

"Ah, my apologies," the older guard said, "I expected you to be more aware of this place, considering the way you dispatched the bandits."

"You don't know about this place?" the younger guard asked, with Bryant looking at him with squinted eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't," Chronos answered, but something else came to mind, "If I may ask a question myself?"

"Yes sir?" Bryant said.

"What year is it in Earthrealm?"

"I wouldn't know the exact date, sir," he answered, "As far as I know, the only people who are aware of the date live in the capitol. You should inquire there, if you intend to travel there. However, I still have to ask you a question or two," Bryant said, and the younger one pulled out what appeared to be a parchment and a quill, "I will need you to give up your name, age and race."

He didn't think he'd like to give up his real name. In a world which was apparently not his own, he tried to imagine a name that would fit around in these regions.

"My name is Chronos, my age is 26 and I'm human," he blurted out. As of today, he no longer feels like being in prep school was of any use.

"Understood," Bryant acknowledged, "That is all we need to know. We will assign a small contingent to this area to keep it safe. Have a nice evening, sir."

"Have a nice evening, Bryant," Chronos said, "And you as well, Eric."

The young guard look up from his parchment, still scribbling down something. Chronos imagined it to be his appearance, because if anything, he stood out by quite a bit at this point. The two guards let him be for now, with a small force staying behind to ensure the safety of the people. He had wanted to stay, but he felt watched under the gazing eye of the guards. He walked up to the woman whom he had spoken to earlier.

"Ma'am," he began, with the woman turning her head in a flash, "I appreciate your hospitality, but I have decided to head towards your capitol without staying the night."

"What's changed your mind, sir?" she asked. He looked at the guards before looking back at her, and he guessed she caught on to the not all too subtle hint. She gave a quick bow, and he reciprocated the gesture.

"What way is it, exactly?" he asked.

"You take the road left here, and that's all you have to do," she explained, "the road leads to the capitol only."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, "have a nice evening."

With a quick wave, he turned around to head towards the capitol, picking up his pace, making sure that the marble road wouldn't give him sore soles this time. His trip was uneventful after his run-in with the group of bandits, a few small critters crossing the road here and there and the rare person riding on his horse, passing him by. They looked awfully groggy, or maybe it was his presence, because most of them were clad in fancy robes and dresses, and Chronos looked like he had rolled through a mudslide.

He reached the capitol after a long walk, the stars even brighter than before, and he was greeted with a fantastic view. The capitol was larger than he expected, with great buildings dotting the city now and then, and every road his eyes could see, lights illuminated it, with several buildings stocked with people. He hadn't imagined a civilisation relying on swords and maces to have such a grand city, let alone a city that had an impressive infrastructure. And above all that, far in the distance, he could see a massive construct, which he could only think to be a palace of sorts, its bulbous roofs shrouded in shadow. The palace itself looked like it was situated on a hill, as it was located much higher than the rest of the city.

He figured he could garner some more information if he made his way over to the palace. He would think a noble house had only the highest education, and would be well aware of the events occurring in other lands. He walked the downwards road, now well lit by lanterns on each side of the road, his legs shaking a bit from the long walk. He passed houses that were well over three stories tall, showcases of several shops stalling jewellery, clothing that most resembled that of costumes that actors would wear in a theatre, he even saw some delicious looking pies and cakes in one of them. He'd forgotten just how long he hadn't eaten, and the small pouch of gold he had received from the people back at the camp probably wouldn't cut it at the posh restaurants here.

He kept on walking, passing by a few people, all of which threw him some dirty looks. He imagined the city wasn't accustomed to someone who looked like he was living on scraps. To be honest, he had no idea whether he would even be able to survive here, let alone find an occupation that would sustain him with enough money to live comfortably. He noticed the smell of bread somewhere near him, and he looked up to see that he had wandered into a market, with most stalls emptied, save a single one, where a woman was packing her foodstuffs. He hurried over to her, and she turned around to see a hulking man running towards her. Safe to say, she was not pleased, and the knife she pulled out gave that away quite well.

"Stay back," she warned, "I'll use this, you dirty wanderer!"

"Hold on," Chronos started, "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just here to buy some of your food, ma'am."

"As if," she scoffed, "You sure don't look like you have any gold on you."

"I would think so too, miss," he agreed, and he pulled out his pouch of gold to make sure she would lower her guard just a bit.

"Show it," she said, and he opened the pouch, filled with golden coins, "Good. I'll trust you. But if you try to steal from me, I'll shout for the guards and you'll be thrown out of the city faster than you can tie a knot."

He nodded in agreement, and she asked for a few pieces of gold for a pair of bread loafs. He wanted to ask how much they generally sold for, but he held himself back, as trying to get a cheaper bargain may end up in him getting nothing at all. He gave her the gold, and she handed over the bread in return. With a quick nod, he turned around to continue towards the palace.

"Wait just a minute," she called to him, "You're not Edenian."

"That's right, miss," he acknowledged, his back still turned to her.

"So why are you here?" she asked.

"I know just as much as you do, miss," he answered, "I'm sorry if that answer isn't what you expected, but it's the best I can give you."

"How did you get here, then?"

"I was pulled into a glowing ball of lightning and sucked into your world," he explained, and from the corner of his eye, he could see wasn't expecting that answer.

"That doesn't sound like common travel to here," she said, "Perhaps someone around here is more knowledgeable in that area. Try the royal sorcerers over at the palace. So long as they let you in, considering you look like a heap of leather."

"Will do, miss," Chronos said, "Have a nice evening."

"Have a nice evening," she reciprocated, with a hint of bewilderment at his manners. He picked up his pace again and headed for the palace. He had been walking for another half hour when he felt a single drop of water touch his skin. He looked up to see the stars hidden by thick clouds, which had either rolled in faster than he could think, or he had just forgotten his sense of time. The drop soon turned into rain, which in turn transformed into a torrent, drenching his clothes to a point where he felt like he was swimming in a lake.

He looked around to see if he could hide anywhere, and he did find a fancy building where the lights still burned. Running through the doorway without a second thought, he came upon a well-lit room, with a chandelier hanging over a crisp and clean floor, shining in the light. On both sides at the end of this room, two curving stairs led upwards, and between them, a single counter was placed with several stools to rest. He could hear several voices upstairs, but he wouldn't bother them.

Chronos walked over to the counter, seeing the several bottles of wine that were resting on the shelves. As he was about to sit down, he saw a woman emerging from the back, cleaning a tall glass with a rag. She looked up and found herself surprised to see a man in ragged, wet clothes. She put down the glass and walked over to him.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but we're not serving anyone today," she said.

"Sorry ma'am," he apologised, "I only came here to hide from the storm outside."

She looked behind him to see that the torrent kept raging on, several crackling thunderbolts booming in the distance.

"Well," she began, "I am not supposed to let anyone inside. But I'll let you stay for as long as the storm continues. Do keep to yourself, sir. The Princess in particular is not fond of uncouth folk near her."

"I'm not as uncouth as I look," he said, "but I'll just stay here. If you do find yourself to have some time later, could you pour me a drink?"

"Only if I have the time, sir," she said, "I'm more concerned with the Royal Family's wishes as of now. I'm already spending too much time here."

"Then I won't bother you any more, ma'am," he said. She nodded and returned to the back, disappearing behind the door. He decided to think about what he should do in the next few hours. He figured whatever royal family was here had some knowledge of Earth, and that they could at least point him in the direction of where he was supposed to go. He imagined he could try and live on whatever he had as long as possible, and once he found a way to return home, he'd wave this place goodbye and go back to his good old home and hearth to sleep this all out. He was lost in thought for quite some time, thinking about his brother and friends when the woman returned from the back.

"Well sir, I appear to have some time to pour you a drink," she said, shoving a glass in front of him, "What can I get you?"

"Give me a personal favourite," he said, and she pulled one of the bottles of wine from the shelves, "How much will it cost?"

"You know what?" she said, pouring the wine," this one is on the house, sir."

"I appreciate that more than you can imagine, ma'am," he said, as he took the glass of wine and brought it to his lips. The taste was quite sweet, sweeter than anything he had had before, and the fruity after-taste was quite enjoyable, "This is quite good."

"It's our own brew, sir," she said.

"Ah, stroking your own ego a bit here?" he said, and she was blushing a bit at the comment. He gave her a single wink "Don't worry, I won't tell."

"Thank you," she said playfully, "Say, I reckon you are not from around here."

"What gave it away?"

"You're much kinder than many that come here to dine," she explained, "Many royal houses come here, and they cannot hold their tongues when it comes to employees."

"That kind of nobility comes around here?" he asked, "That's what's upstairs right now?"

"The Royal Family isn't as bothersome," she said, "If anything, the Princess is a bit hotheaded and brash, and the visiting Prince is confident at best."

"What's happening up there then?" he inquired.

"They are discussing a territorial dispute," she started, "The visiting family insist that the Alythand Plains belong to them, whereas our King insist it remains part of his kingdom. The conflict almost escalated into a war, but the King compromised and they are now currently discussing what amount of territory must be seceded in order to satisfy the visiting family."

"Doesn't your king have an army waiting at the borders to defend?"

"While the army is grand, he would prefer if they are kept for the future, in case of annexation."

"Annexation by who?" he asked, but before she could answer, they both heard a set of heels resounding through the hall. He looked to his left to see a woman, clad in blue attire, adorned heavily and, to be honest, didn't seem like the most conservative piece of clothing for royalty. A pair of fans were strapped to her waist. Her stature oozed confidence, and her gaze was one that he remembered from some idiots who believed themselves to be superior.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, her hips swaying with every step towards them. Her eyes were a beautiful hazelnut brown, and her complexion was flawless. Despite her pretty face, she seemed rather unhappy with the sight before her.

"It appears we have a visitor," she began, and he wasn't liking her tone, "Who is this peasant that you allowed in this hall?"

"He hasn't given a name yet," the woman explained, "but the man was seeking shelter from the rain, and I allowed him to stay as long as it persisted."

"So you have degraded yourself to appeasing to tramps," she said, with a tone so denigrating he honestly felt bad for the woman.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It won't happen again."

"Be that as it may, this transgression will not be left unpunished," the princess said, "I shall inform your superior, who I hope will adequately handle your mistake."

"Let the woman be, she was just lending me a hand," Chronos interjected, "Cut the woman some slack."

"I'm sorry, did I ask you anything, commoner?" she said, "I have no interest in your opinion."

"Kindness isn't a virtue here?" he said, "She hasn't let me have a three-course dinner here now? All she did was give me a place to hide from the rain."

"You should have hid somewhere else," she said, "Not in such an establishment where a man of your position has no right to be."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" he asked. The question was genuine, but in the back of his head, he knew that it wouldn't be taken lightly. The worst thing that would happen, is that she would wave at him with those fans, throw a big huff and run to her family, never mentioning how she was told off by a stranger.

"I will personally evict you," she threatened, "with force, may I add."

"Right," he snickered, and he could hear the princess blowing steam through her nose.

"How dare you show such disrespect," she started, "I am princess Kitana, heir of the throne, masterful combatant. You will do well to heed my words."

"Look, I don't like your tone, lady," he began, standing up from his chair and walking over to her. He stood a few inches taller than this princess, and it was clear his size was unexpected, given she stepped back a little. He also saw upon closer inspection that the fans had interwoven knives. They weren't particularly big, so he didn't worry all too much, but he definitely kept an eye on them "But I've been a lot more unforgiving for less, so I'll say this to you."

He walked up to her face and got close to it, the tip of his nose brushing hers. He could smell the faint smell of alcohol in her breath.

"You don't want to fight me."

He turned around to go back to his stool, but he heard something along a sword slashing through the air. When he turned back around, he saw the princess, with her fans unfolded, in what he assumed to be a combat stance.

"I take that as a challenge then," he inquired, although the question was more rhetoric than anything else.

"You will learn respect," she said, and all he did was laugh. He had quite the experience with big talkers, and all of them hit the floor face first when he decided that they could use an attitude adjustment. However, the knives were a new variable that he had to take into account. With a quick tug on his cloak he slung it away, revealing his well-muscled form, his tattoo clear for everyone to see. He could see the woman behind the counter going wide-eyed, but she was frozen in place and unable to tear away her eyes from the scene.

" _C'mon_ ," he taunted, waving her over. Her ego was clearly just a tad bit injured, so she charged towards him, her fans trailing behind her. She swept her fans at his face, but he dodged them clean and retaliated with a crushing blow to her gut, throwing her in the air for half a second. She had trouble regaining her footing, and he could read the shock on her face.

She tried to strike back, but several straight thrown at her face gave her no choice but to dodge, using the fans to deflect the strikes. She folded her fans and tried to stab him in the chest with one, but with sleight hands he disarmed her, leaving her with only one fan to continue. He pushed her back with enough force to send her tumbled backwards, but she recovered rather swiftly. She jumped up a small height before turning her back to him and flying over. He wasn't expecting it entirely, but he sidestepped it effortlessly still, and he followed up with a ball of energy, hot on her trail. She used her fan do disperse the energy, but through her guard, Chronos sneaked in an uppercut, sending her reeling back from the force.

She tried to recover, but she was struck with a hail of strikes at her gut, and when she tried to block them, he landed a hammer of a hook on her cheek, making her head throb painfully. She could barely dodge another energy ball thrown in her direction, but she couldn't get out of the way when he slid two energy waves to her, hitting her shins with fantastic force, almost tripping her over. He walked over to her to land a roundhouse, but she managed to duck under it and went ahead to land her own vicious attack. Trying to get her other fan to hit something, she went for his shin, but he lifted it up and brought it down to crush her forearm.

She yelped in pain, and tried to get up, but she was met with a potent knee to her chin, causing her to fly back, landing on her back. She scrambled to retrieve her lost fan, and with an intense headache and a bruising forearm, she had trouble standing up. She could see his form blurring slightly and her nose was bleeding. She wasn't thinking clearly, and she couldn't accept defeat yet. Bruised and broken, he would learn to respect her.

Once again she lifted herself up a little and used her flight to propel herself into him. However, instead of stepping to the side, Chronos stepped backwards, just out of her range to begin conjuring a massive ball of energy in his hands, the great force dislodging pieces of the floor. Just barely landing in front of him, he unleashed his energy, hitting her directly in the back, frying her insides. The energy coursing through her body, made her twitch and spasm, and she fell to the floor, smoking, bloodied and bruised.

In his anger, Chronos hadn't held back, and in hindsight, that would have been a much smarter thing to do, as the princess looked like a corpse in her current state. He wished to at least help her up, but a sudden shock locked him down, his muscles uncontrollably spasming at that point. The current kept on flowing, until he couldn't keep himself standing up. He came crashing towards the floor, his massive body bouncing off of the tiles. In his semi-conscious state, he could barely hear voices yelling.

"An outrage, an absolute outrage! My daughter has been violently assaulted in our city! How could you allow this travesty to occur?!" a man, who sounded old, his gritty and husky voice just maintaining composure.

"I'm so sorry, my King, but I was afraid it would only worsen the situation." the girl that was behind the counter was crying.

"The man is clearly more than adept at combat, but this offence must not be left unpunished." a woman, whose voice reminded him of exotic lands.

"We should asses the event before allowing harsh judgement to pass." another woman, whose voice dripped with wisdom.

"May I suggest marking him?" another man spoke, his baritone voice thundering through his head.

"That mark is only for those that are assigned to death row." a third woman talked, her voice sultry and seductive.

"Exactly."

* * *

After some superb procrastination for several years, I'm back from my grave, trying my hand again at this story, 'originally' called MK: Chronos.

 _'But why not continue it there?'_

Because, as far as my memory goes, the story sucked big dingaling, and the writing was subpar at best. Then again, I was a stupid fourteen year old kid when I started, so there's that. Secondly, most of the story that I have in mind only resembles the original one in very minor ways, so you won't miss out. Anyway, I hope you do like it. Let me know if you liked it, R&R to make sure any garbage is edited or removed, and stay tuned for more. PM if you have any important questions that are more specific. But don't expect a strict uploading schedule for this story, as I'm about as consistent as jelly putty.

\- Litteraly The Coolest Man Ever


	2. I-II: Dead Man Walking

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter II**

 **Dead Man Walking**

* * *

Chronos could feel his head thumping as he woke up. At first, he swore he was floating, but he realised his arms were being suspended by chains, one on each side, keeping him locked down on a single spot. After the throbbing headache faded away, he opened his eyes to see nothing but a few torches, casting a dim light on the bars in front of him. He wiggled around a moment, but the chains were locked tighter than a chastity belt and fastened to a point his shoulders were being dislocated.

It didn't help at all with the stinging feeling on the right of his chest. In a half roused state, they dragged him to some dungeon, with a single executioner waiting with a branding tool. Held down tightly, the masked man pressed the scalding hot iron on his skin, burning a mark on his chest, and even in his ill state, he could barely hold back the screams of agony as a permanent wound scarred his figure.

He looked around in what he imagined to be his cell, a small two by two by two space, with simple iron bars keeping him from escaping. Beyond that, he could see only a wall with a torch or two mounted on it. He felt like he was on death row, beating up royalty wasn't exactly his smartest idea so far. Maybe his good deed before would cast some doubt on his assumed malevolent intentions, but he highly doubted it, as monarchs tended to be much more absolute with power than was necessary.

He kept thinking how he'd break out of his damn cell. He attempted to rip the chains from their sockets, but while the chains creaked at the force, it was not enough to break them. He looked whether he could find something to melt or slowly chip away at with his energy, but nothing looked either rusted, old or creaky enough to buckle under extended heat or force. He could use only a few words to sum up his situation, and that was that he was screwed so royally he'd get a Hall of Fame plaque for it.

He could hear a multitude of iron steps echoing throughout the hallway, along with a set of high heels. He figured it was that pompous princess coming down to brag about her immunity, and how he should have reconsidered his choices when he assaulted her, and how she will laugh at the moment of his dishonourable execution. He wasn't the most optimistic of men, now that he thought about it.

However, on the escort and woman arriving, instead of looking at a young, rather extraordinarily dressed princess, he looked at a much more mature, also relatively scantily clad in regal purple attire, with a mantle dragging behind her, and her hair had a single streak of black in her grey hair, straight through the middle. Several guards accompanied her, each armed with a halberd, held up straight. The woman.

She waved her hands around a bit, and on that command, the guards shot several beams at the base of his chains, dislodging them from the wall. With his arms free, he stretched them out a bit before standing up. He flexed every single muscle possible, and while it was mostly used to show, it was only to make his blood flow this time. Naturally, this time wasn't a common situation to find himself in.

The woman walked up close to the bars, her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes wandering across his body. She drew a single draught of air before she spoke.

"So you are the one that assaulted my daughter and disrupted the negotiations?"

He didn't find much sense in denying anything, so he gave a single nod. She gave a small smile, he guessed out of amusement, "Very well that you answer me honestly. You are not from here, I deduce?"

Once again he nodded.

"And is it true that you, prior to your scuffle, had single-handedly assisted travellers in dispatching several bandits, effectively saving them from their clutches?"

He kept nodding, but he wasn't entirely clear on where she was going with this interrogation.

"It appears you are also well versed in manipulating the energies coursing through you to cast several powerful spell at an impressive speed."

"Can you please just get to the point?" he asked, "You aren't here for small talk."

She lifted her chin and turned around, taking only two steps before speaking up again.

"In the city, there is a compound were we train the greatest warriors of the future. They will form the backbone of our military might."

She turned around to face Chronos again, whose stern face was rather odd to keep looking at.

"Recently, our evaluation process was conducted to recruit new warriors into our ranks. However, one of our most reputable overseers, Kilamon, who oversaw much of the process, was sent on a mission to combat the Mistmarch, and only that overseer had the gall to question my husband on dubious decisions."

She walked closer again, and Chronos hadn't realised he'd shuffled closer to the bars himself.

"With Kilamon on duty and little to no resistance from other overseers, my husband has picked many more of this city than average. Unfortunately, this has led to a frustrated call from the compound, including from Kilamon himself. But many of the proper entries have returned home already, and those that remain, are not interested in joining a below average group of fighters."

"So what do you want from me?' he asked. She smiled again, probably because she saw through his charade of feigning ignorance.

"You have been praised by the group of travellers as a saviour, and you have bested my daughter in kombat, a rare occurrence in this city. What I want from you, my dear, is to join the academy of warriors and elevate the ragtag youngsters into hardened warriors, alongside you mentors of course."

"Either that or..."

"The mark you bear was first given to a group of extreme cultists that defied a king long ago," she explained, "and they were sentenced with death for their defiance."

He wasn't exactly thrilled to know the history behind a death mark, but he kept his cool.

"You are either banished and declared outlawed, or you are brought to death by public execution," she continued, "However, this is the sole opportunity I am allowing you to take to escape you dreaded fate."

"Why?" he asked, and her smile faded.

"Because I know, after everything that came to light, your excessively violent handling of the situation must have been a terrible mistake, and you wouldn't have it in your heart to perform such a crime again."

In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure. If the princess's kind of attitude was prevalent in all of this city, he'd rather just be banished before he wrecks someone's teeth on the curb. The woman seemed to pick up this thought exceptionally fast, even through his scowling face.

"Not on purpose, of course," she began, "And do not worry, my daughter is quite a special case concerning her temper. She's quick to let her soul burn with the intensity of a blazing sun."

"Not exactly the most kind, either," he added, and he didn't expect her to just snicker at his remark.

"She has picked up that custom from her father," she explained, "My husband is not the one to show humility on a bad day."

He didn't have a response for the woman, so all he did was shrug his shoulders. The woman once again commanded her guards, this time to open the cell. The doors flung open, with Chronos dragging his chains behind him. One of the guards unshackled him, and he rubbed his wrists to alleviate the feeling of being cuffed for more than a day. One guard also gave him some fancy robes to wear, as he was still clad in his leather clothing. After equipping the robes, he looked at the lady, and she beckoned him to follow, with the guards dispersing into other directions. Chronos could gun for a prison break, but he'd rather not waste the one chance he gets at breathing for more than five minutes.

"I believe we haven't introduced ourselves yet," the woman noted as they left what appeared to be the dungeons.

"We haven't, ma'am," Chronos confirmed, and the woman raised an eyebrow at his formal dialect.

"How quaint," she said, "My name is Sindel, Queen of Edenia."

"I'm Chronos," he said, "But I have a feeling you already knew my name."

"You are mistaken," she said, "I wasn't informed of your name, as the guards that did record your identity were not present during the run-down of events."

"Hm," he grunted, "So this whole academy, am I supposed to find it myself? Because with this Mark of yours, I don't feel like I'll fit in."

"The morning dew has only just set," Sindel said, "And many men still slumber. However, finding the compound by yourself would be suicide, as your Mark has dire consequences for your safety. So, I will accompany you with someone who they would not dare to attack."

"With who?" he asked, but he had some hunch as to who. They walked up a flight of stairs, which lead to grand hallways, dimly lit by a rising sun. He looked outside to see a balcony, and a few trees sticking above it. He figured the garden was there. He could also hear the arguing of several people somewhere nearby. As they got closer, the voices became much clearer, and at least one voice was fairly recognisable.

"I will not tolerate this offence!" the princess bellowed from somewhere at the end of the hall, "This man must be properly dealt with, and if you won't, I will!"

"My dear lady Kitana, you must calm down," a much more sultry and dampened voice emerged from the screams and shouts, "I assume this situation will be dealt with. I assure you, no single person can go unpunished for attacking royalty."

"I do hope so," the princess yelled, "My mother informed that I would be pleasantly surprised by her news."

"Certainly, my dear friend," the other woman said, "And while I would love to stay and chat, I must take my leave. I must make preparations for today's training at the academy. But I do hope to see you in better mood later, Kitana."

"Thank you, Jade," she replied, "I will very certainly be in a better mood when justice has been served."

He could only think to himself how much the princess is going to stomp her feet once she realises the predicament she will be placed in. In the back of the hallway, he could just see a woman, clad scantily in green with an ebony complexion, about to leave, but casting a glance towards them she stopped dead in her tracks and marched over towards them. Come to think of it, the royal women he had seen were all dressed non-conservatively. He wondered whether this was the standard or the exception. The woman reached the pair and bowed at the Queen's presence.

"My Queen," she greeted, "I assume all is well?"

"Without a doubt, my darling," she greeted as well, "And please, how many times have I told you to refer to me as Sindel?"

"My apologies, Queen," she said, "It is an old force of habit."

He looked at her, and the woman looked back at him with a fiery gaze. He would be about as popular as the school champion of origami folding. He remembered how that guy was always folding origami.

"My Queen, if I may be so bold to ask," she began, "But it appears the man responsible for your daughter's injuries accompanies you. I expect to the gallows?"

"While you may wish that to be, no," Sindel explained, "Instead, he has been given an opportunity to absolve himself of his crime by joining your academy."

"My Queen, that is ludicrous," she said, "I have faith in your judgement, but this criminal-"

"Saved civilians when he wasn't obliged to, Jade," she interrupted, "While my daughter has been moaning and pouting about her bruises, I ordered my guards to investigate the man's earlier steps. As expected, his vengeful act was once, and it seems you do not know how you got here?"

"That's the gist of it, ma'am," he confirmed, but Jade wasn't remotely pleased with the outcome.

"Then I suppose I will see you today at the training grounds," Jade said, a mild venom dripping from her words, "Must I hold your hand as well?"

"No, my daughter will," Sindel said, and Jade grew wide-eyed, "My concerns with her behaviour have been brewing, and I hope to discover why in the coming weeks. The greater distance between my daughter and me has been noticeable, and I do wish for her to return to her happier days. Perhaps mingling with the peasantry will enlighten her."

"I assume the stress of inheriting the throne is a heavy burden to bear and the cause of her attitude," Jade reasoned, with Chronos mostly standing around, looking everywhere and nowhere, "But I trust she is up to the task. And that she will be able to handle her emotions more rationally in the future."

"I hope so too, Jade," Sindel said while bowing as well. Jade reciprocated the gesture, "I hope you enjoy your day, my dear."

"I wish the same for you as well, my Qu… Sindel," she replied. A last look of anger written on the ebony's face was cast upon him before she took her leave.

"That went better than I imagined," Sindel said, a hint of relief in her voice.

"You expected her to attack me?" Chronos asked.

"I expected her to put you in a casket," she said, "Jade is Kitana's lifelong friend, and their bond is stronger than the mountain. If anything happens to the other, the Netherrealm itself would cower at their wrath."

"Sounds serious," he said, "But that's only her friend. What about your daughter?"

"Yes, about that, I'd like you to stand outside the throne room first," she said, "You might be liable to lose a limb or two."

"Fine by me," he agreed, "I'll just eavesdrop around the corner."

Sindel nodded and entered, with her daughter pacing around the room. The priest had done an excellent job, with only the gravest of injuries still showing, namely a hint of black eye and a few bruises here and there.

"Mother, finally," she began, "I assume you have good news?"

"I do have news," Sindel started, "But I wouldn't know if you can appreciate it."

"Please tell me that the brute has at least been properly reprimanded for his horrendous crime?" Kitana asked.

"You could just ask him," Sindel said, with Kitana frowning at the remark, "You can come inside, my dear."

Chronos peaked his head around the corner, and he barely dodged a vase tossed at his head. The princess was fuming at this moment, and the queen had an awful difficult time restraining her by using her hair to pull the princess away from him. He was mildly entertained by magic hair, before looking back at the princess, now mostly struggling to keep her feet on the ground.

"Kitana, calm yourself," Sindel ordered, "Must I treat you like a child?"

Kitana stopped squirming, and Sindel let go of her. The princess straightened out her elaborate clothes with her hands.

"No mother, you do not," she said, "But I do not understand why this barbarian is allowed to leave unscathed."

"He will not leave without repaying his debt," Sindel explained, "I have enrolled him in the academy of warriors so he can repent and whip the new members into shape."

"This Earthrealmer will teach Edenians?" she asked rather condescendingly, "Has the realm gone topsy-turvy?"

"I beat you," Chronos remarked, and the princess was ready to bolt at him when she was held down by a stern look from her mother.

"While I do not approve of your remark," she said, with him just shrugging it off, "he makes a fair point. It is clear his aptitude for kombat is high, and with lacklustre applicants this generation, I believe he will be an addition that is necessary to improve it."

"Nonsense," Kitana scoffed, "I'm fairly certain the overseers themselves can transform them into well-versed warriors."

"Those overseers can't keep them out, what makes you believe they can bring them on par with our soldiers?" Sindel asked.

"I feel Kilamon would be able enough to perform that task alone."

"Even he needs his rest, my dear daughter," Sindel said, "Now, I assign you to escort this man to the compound without harming him. And please, my daughter, do heed me, because we do not need a public fiasco marring our reputation."

"Very well, mother," Kitana conceded, "I will escort him to the compound, but I will do nothing more."

"No one was asking so much, dear," Sindel said, "Now, sweethearts, you must go. I am certain Jerrod would not approve of you both loitering in his palace."

"As you wish mother," Kitana said, and she bowed to her mother. Chronos bumped his Mark with his left fist, a small _yo_ leaving his lips. Sindel was confused at his odd gesture, but she nodded nonetheless. With Sindel leaving the two of them to their own devices, the princess and the stable-boy were left alone in the throne room. His face remained stern still, and Kitana was more than peeved with her babysitting quest. She beckoned Chronos to follow, the duo leaving the palace. Chronos found himself awestruck by the magnificent view.

The sun cast a great red light over the city, the multiple gardens visible far from here. The canals and rivers flowing through the city reflected the rays of light, and the white roofs almost blinded him. Most of all, he suddenly found himself gasping for air once he looked down. He found himself on a massive bridge, and the valley below was a hundred yards down. At least, it felt like that. His head went a little light at the sight.

He sped up to keep on the princess' heels, who hadn't even stopped to check whether he was following. She was absolutely unamused and would rather spend a whole day listening to a record of a trade meeting than guide a criminal to a prestigious institute. She arrived at the top of the staircase and heard a small gasp behind her. She scoffed at his easy bewilderment, and descended down the stairs. After five minutes of walking, she reached the bottom. Looking behind her, the man was almost down as well, walking rather cautiously.

"You're awfully slow," she remarked.

"I'm not very fond of steep stairs," he explained, and she snickered at his discomfort. She kept walking, past a lake, adorned with fountains and trees on the shoreline. She looked back to find Chronos slowing his pace again, but instead of caution, he seemed perplexed at the stunning beauty of the scene, the rays of sun casting a beautiful light on the water from the fountains. He almost stopped to gaze, but he snapped his head to her and picked up his pace again.

She was rather bothered by him slowing down, but afterwards, there were no interruptions or obstacles that hindered them. At least, none that actively extended the time she would spend in this peasant's presence. By the Gods, why was she stuck with him?

"You don't talk a lot," he said, and she scoffed.

"My words are worth more than you," she remarked, "and I wish to spend as little of them as possible on you, if that's possible at all."

"Very well, Shakespeare," he joked. She had no clue as to what he alluded, but she imagined it to be an insult.

"I do not appreciate snide mockery," she said.

"Can't take a joke?" he said, and she looked around to see him smirking.

"You are fortunate I was not your jailer," she said, "For I would have your tongue removed for such comments."

"Guess you can't take a joke," he said. She spun around on her heel and faced him, and all he did was smile. She marched up to him, standing face to face, a mere few inches apart. It wasn't helpful he was taller and broader, so her little speech wouldn't be as impressive as she would have liked.

"I am royalty, heir to the throne of Edenia, and I will not be ridiculed by some low-life interloper who so happened to best me when I was intoxicated!"

"So don't pick a fight you can't win," he objected, and she was about to lop off his head with a well-placed slice of her fan, but she wouldn't hear the end of it when her parents would discover it.

"The next time you step over the line, you will lose your head," she promised him, and he chuckled to her absolute infuriation.

"I'll keep you to that promise," he told her. She decided to not murder him in cold blood, picking up the pace again. He followed suit, and with no further arguments during the walk, they reached the compound. Chronos was quite impressed by the size of the gates alone, and the sun had risen to such heights that the elongated shadows had made room for the brilliant white marble to shine. He damn well noticed the shine, because he felt his neck slightly burning at the intensity of the light.

The gates opened to reveal a massive plaza, a multitude of sky high buildings dotting the grounds. There weren't a lot of people walking about, mainly a few older men and women that he would assume to be employees of some sorts. The grounds were also surprisingly green, with a few tall trees somewhere in the back sticking out. He was interested in scouting the compound, but he was dragged along by the angry woman next to him. They approached a guard, his helmet wobbling on his head as he turned around to see them.

"Ah, your Highness, it is good to see you," he said. Chronos recognised his voice as the bumbling guard from last night, "And you, sir. What brings you here?"

"This man is to be enrolled in the academy," Kitana explained, "after his apparent good deed of saving an innocent group of people exempts him from proper punishment."

Both Chronos and Kitana listened to that phrase in their heads, and the insult was nowhere near as well worded as Kitana would have liked it to be.

"Well, he does seem nice," the guard said, and Chronos could see the guards eyes shoot up and down the princess' form, "and he must have some merit if you accompany him."

"Such nonsense," she scoffed, "I'm tasked to babysit a fully grown man because my mother is afraid he can't find his way in the city."

"He isn't from here, so I guess the Queen has a point," the guard replied. It was clear he tried his best to defuse her hostility, but her burning eyes made it clear that was a lost cause from the start.

"I am not in the mood for your reasoning, guard," she said. The princess' recognition of people as little more than a peasant or someone below her status sent shivers down his spine, mostly because he felt his attitude adjustment of yesterday wasn't enough. But he held himself back.

"Well then, I wish you a good day, your Highness," the guard said, and she merely turned around and walked away. The guard relaxed a bit, and Chronos noticed.

"Walking on egg shells around her?" he asked, although he knew the answer.

"She can be rather passionate about her opinion," he explained, "but it usually extends no further beyond the realm of language."

"I got a taste of beyond language yesterday," he said, and the guard looked at him in confusion, and Chronos pulled away a bit of his robe to reveal his branding. The guard gasped at the sight.

"You live?" he inquired, and as much of an open door it was at the moment, Chronos himself was also still relieved at the fact, "Is that why you're here?"

"That's why I'm here," he said, "A bit of accidental luck, I'd say. Do you mind if I ask you where I should be going?"

"Oh, certainly not, right this way," the guard said, and he scurried off with Chronos following behind. The walk wasn't exactly long, but several stares did make it feel like an eternity. When they entered the building, there were two stairs, one on each side, leading somewhere he couldn't see, while ahead of them he could see a sizeable group of people, and a single person was standing by the doorway, staring at a parchment. The man looked up to immediately stop Chronos dead in his tracks.

"Your name, sir," the man asked.

"Chronos," he answered, and the man's eyes darted over the parchment. He seemed confused at first, but he did eventually find his name, scribbled somewhere on the very bottom.

"Ah yes, Chronos," he said, "A latecomer. You may find more appropriate attire up the stairs. You're to return here to catch up on the rest of the lecture."

He turned around to see the guard nod at him. He was about to march away when he heard the marked man yell at him, and the guard turned his head around to hear what he had to say.

"You're not so good at sneaking a peek, kid," he said, and even behind the helmet, Chronos could see the guard blushing from being caught. He dashed off and Chronos walked up the stairs. He came to see another hallway, leading to a few doors on each side. Above one of them was a plaque with the word 'wardrobe' engraved onto it, so he guessed he could change his attire here. Come to think of it, he had an awful lot of costume changes in the past two days.

He opened the door to see a couple of boxes filled to the brim with leftover clothes and a few shelves stacked with clutter. He had no idea whether the sign was incorrect or he just had to make do with leftovers, but maybe it'd work in his favour to look like he just crawled from the gutter. He discarded his robe, his leathery ragged pants still underneath, alongside the rope that kept it up. He looked through the clothes, but it was mostly scraps and materials used to fix up actual clothes. He did see a few bandages and ropes lying around.

He made do with what he was given, using the bandages to wrap up his feet and hands, while he used a bit of rope to spice up his appearance, how little his appearance represented in the first place. Two ropes on each upper arm, bound neatly around them, he was at least content with his outfit and decided to join the group downstairs. He found it easy to look over them, as the tallest of them stood far on the outside of the group. He approached slowly, and from where he was looking, he could see a sparring match playing out.

He looked for a total of a minute before realising whatever the Queen said wasn't exaggerated. The combatants, a girl and a guy, fought like they'd just picked up a book on how to use their limbs, as they over swung beyond what would have been acceptable back home. Behind them, he could see four people. Two of them he recognised, the doorman and the ebony woman. Two of them were foreign to him, one girl with an attire revealing about two thirds of her skin, while the other one, a man, wore mostly bone, cloth covering his right arm and the right of his chest, adorned with bones, and his leggings were designed roughlty the same way. He wore a mammoth's skull as a helmet, or what could pass for mammoth.

The faces he could see were almost dead, as the doorman scribbled on his tablet, the ebony woman was staring lifelessly at the fight and the other woman was most likely stuck in her own thoughts as she didn't even look at the fight. He had no idea what was going on behind the mammoth's skull, but he assumed it to be an emotion he shared with his companions. After the fight ended, the girl and guy returned to the group and the green-clad woman stepped forward.

"Thank you for your demonstration," she said, "Now, for our next contestants to demonstrate?"

She looked around, and it wasn't hard to spot the man she met this morning. Granted, he was large beyond comparison, broad and tall, his muscles expanding with every breath he took.

"Selina and the man in the back," she said, and while Selina strutted forward, everyone looked to see who the man in the back was. Those close to him stepped back, and those that spotted his mark whispered, purposefully loud enough to make him hear. He wasn't exactly bothered, as the presentation he just saw made it clear he wouldn't struggle all too much.

He marched forward, everyone making space to allow him through, standing face to face with a girl he assumed wasn't taller than six feet.

"Well, if it isn't a tough guy," she taunted, and he wasn't liking the route she was taking, "What're you here for? Stealing bread from a poor, defenceless housekeeper? Loitered where you weren't supposed to?"

He didn't respond, and she cocked her hips a bit and huffed at his silent attitude.

"If only you'd talk more," she continued, "Then I'd hear you fear and horror echo through your voice."

He visibly rolled his eyes and Selina scoffed at his disinterested attitude.

"Very well," she said, "If you won't talk, then I suggest we start our demonstration."

The girl assumed her stance, and so did Chronos. Everyone was disinterested, event most of the peers that watched over this exchange of blows. At least, they expected an exchange. When Selina threw a punch, a quite wide punch at that, Chronos effortlessly ducked under it and hit her with a fantastic uppercut, his fist enveloped in orange thunder, sending Selina flying sky high. Everyone gasped at the sight, and the doorman who was mostly scribbling away looked up in awe.

Selina fell to the floor and the impact of her landing shook the ground just a bit. She struggled to get up, but Chronos wasted no time kicking her in the face, sending her spiralling back and knocking her down for a bit longer than intended. She was mostly perishing on the floor, barely moving at all. Most of the onlookers had gone mute at the sight. The man they whispered about showed no remorse in stomping his contestant into the ground, and it sent shivers down their spine just thinking about how hard he hit.

"That was… rather impressive," the ebony spoke up, mildly flabbergasted at his extreme show of force, "Perhaps you wouldn't mind to demonstrate further?"

Chronos nodded at her, and he could see her mask deforming because of her grin.

"Aszara," she said, and the other female overseer sparked up, "Care to match this man's blows?"

She perked up at the thought, and she wasted no time, almost sprinting to the centre of the group. Selina had been dragged off by several bystanders to make sure she wasn't caught by a stray fireball.

"Sounds like I'm getting a bit more of a show today," she said, and Chronos expected another long-winded speech about her superiority. Fortunately, she already assumed her stance, "You're ready to rumble?"

He said nothing in return, instead opting to just assume his stance. Aszara was grinning, not because she was going to win, but because someone finally showed a bit of fighter's spirit. She charged, a straight punch flying at Chronos' face. He deflected the blow and struck her in the stomach himself, knocking her back a bit. Instead of crumpling, she smiled and launched a flurry of attacks, all of which he either dodged or deflected, albeit with much more effort than he initially expected. The students here were far from a reflection of the overseers.

She attempted to grapple him down, but his larger than life body reversed her grapple, and he suplexed her as a result of his much stronger body. She pushed him off before he could continue piledriving her into the ground, flipping up with unmatched grace. Once again, she charged at him, another straight aimed for his face. While she already prepared to sweep him off of his feet with her other hand, he already caught wind of it, jumping over her sweep and kicking her in the face. She stumbled back, blood dripping from her nose.

She seemed to be excited, as he assumed none of the students here were good enough to stand toe to toe with an overseer. He expected another charge, but she surprised him by going up in flames. He turned around, but he was just in time to catch her foot, as she had appeared behind him as he looked to where he assumed she was going to appear. He shoved her away and retaliated with his own powers, lobbing balls of thunderous energy at her. She was surprised she could dodge them at the speed they were going.

Chronos attempted to hit her with a furious whirlwind of kicks, but she ducked under, hitting him with a strong step kick. While he didn't fall, he did flinch mildly at the strength of the kick. He almost didn't react quick enough to Aszara, who had jumped up fairly high and had initiated a divekick. He blocked the first hit, but wasn't in time to block her second kick, sending him stumbling back and losing his footing. Aszara hit the ground like a feather and tried to exploit his temporary state of imbalance by flying towards him in a spiralling manner, engulfed by flames, attempting to crush his torso with sheer force. But he recovered far quicker than expected, and he charged up a massive ball of energy.

 _"Messatsu,"_ he whispered, and with a thrust of his hands, he sent the ball of energy flying at Azare, who couldn't stop her own momentum, _"Gouhado!"_

It hit Aszara full force, keeping her aloft in the air for several seconds before she fell to earth, cringing for the overload of energy coursing through her body. She groaned before she managed to speak up.

"I concede," she said rather weakly, and the audience was amazed. She barely could help herself up, but she was met with a welcoming hand from the man that defeated her. A faint frown adorned her face, and he noticed it.

"No need to put you down outside of a fight," he said, and Aszara hesitantly gripped his hand. He easily lifted her up to her feet, but she could barely stand on them. The doorman rushed over to help her keep her up, while the ebony woman stepped forward.

"That was a nice change of pace," she said, and Chronos smiled inwardly at that sentence, but kept his stern face, "I conclude today's sparring session. You may now leave and do other tasks."

The students bowed, and Chronos himself was about to leave when the ebony woman put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Before you leave, I would like to ask you a few things," she said, and he considered shrugging her off before he did turn around to face her.

"I do understand you are not here on your own volition," she began, "yet you fight with feverish vigour and accuracy. Would you care to inform me how long you've been practising the art of fighting?"

"It's been about eleven years since I started myself," he said, and she raised a single eyebrow at his answer, "How come?"

"Eleven years is not the answer I'd expect," she answered, "How old are you?"

"26 years old, ma'am," he said, and she mildly grinned at his rather formal talk.

"You started quite young then," she said, "Why?"

"I had an interest in it," he explained, "Don't know why or how I came to like it. Guess it was just in my blood."

"And how much did you master in those eleven years?" She asked, "Surely not too many."

"Two to three styles," he said, "But I'm a bit rusty at the moment, so I might not show it all too well."

"It was impressive," she said, "but I quite frankly do not interest myself in that all too much. Tell me, you're quite proficient with your magical abilities."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and Jade couldn't get over that word.

"I am not sure, but from what I can recollect, your kind is not proficient in magic, with a few outliers here and there. Do you have any idea as to how your powers came to be?"

"Solomon taught me," he answered, "He taught me how to use my power."

"You didn't answer my question," she noted.

"I know," he answered, and she only pouted at his odd behaviour. Mostly feigned, naturally, but it didn't sway him into talking anymore. Before they went their own ways, she did say one last thin to him.

"I am Jade," she said, and she stuck out his hand, "Welcome to the Academy."

"It's good to meet you, Jade," he said, and he reciprocated the gesture, "I'm Chronos."

They shook each other's hand and Chronos departed. Before she left as well, the mammoth-masked man came to stand next to her.

"So, you kiss and make up?" He said, and she elbowed him in his side.

"I don't like him per se," she started, "But I respect his strength. He's also rather formal in conversation."

"Raised well by his guardians, I suppose?" he said.

"It's quite a change of pace, I must say," she said.

"You have mentioned that twice now," he noticed.

"I know," she acknowledged, "I'm just very fond of that change, Kilamon."

Kilamon snickered a bit before continuing.

"So, what now?" he asked, and she looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes.

"I'll see how he fares for the coming month or two," she said, "Until then, I'll let him do his thing until I say otherwise."

"Your dear Princess is going to berate you for not giving him a hard time," he mentioned, and Jade pondered that thought for a second.

"You're right," she said, "But my intent is not to work him to death. My intent is to see how far he can go, where his limits lie is what I wish to discover."

"And how will you do that?" Kilamon asked. She once again pondered the thought.

"I'll think of something."

* * *

Wooo, I've uploaded something. Don't feel all too happy about the result, but I suffer terribly from trying to improve everything meticulously, so I'll settle. Let me know what you think by R&R'ing.

AN: Chronos' age has been altered slightly, from 23 to 26, as I felt that, in hindsight, he was slightly too young. Also, in honour of PapaChaos, I'll credit Netherrealm Studios properly for their work.


	3. I-III: Sleepless

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter III**

 **Sleepless**

* * *

With a groan and a stretch, Jade awoke to the faint light of dawn. Her bed was quite wide, so she rolled over to the side, letting her legs hang off the side before pushing herself up from the bed. She walked over to her closet and snagged her leotard from the rack and picked up her boots and gloves as well. After getting dressed, she walked over to her cabinet and picked up her little notebook. It was mostly about the routine at the academy for today, but she did leave an open space just for the newcomer.

She left her room, closing the door behind her with care, and walked over to the princess' room. The door was left open and she stared in it, only to find an empty bed and open balcony doors. Jade entered and walked to the balcony, taking a swig of fresh, chilling air to wake her up before moving downstairs. She arrived at the dining hall to see only a few servants carrying platters and glasses, and a single woman, clad in cerulean attire, sitting at the head of the dining table.

With clacking heels, Jade approached her, and Kitana looked up with weary eyes. The emerald ebony sat beside her.

"Your Highness," Jade began, "you're up early."

"Unfortunately," she lamented, "I was dreaming rather vividly last night."

"Nightmares, my Princess?" Jade asked, and the princess sighed in response.

"I was here, in my very home," she began, "The banners of Edenia were aflame, and the marble walls were collapsing. The sky was a bloody red, and wherever I looked, I could see the corpses of my once loyal servants strewn across the floor. Behind me, his shadow looms, and I can feel my life draining away at his touch."

"You shouldn't worry yourself so much, Kitana," Jade said, "It is poor for your health."

"I understand," Kitana agreed, "But that is easier said than done, Jade."

"Without a doubt," Jade said, "I wish I could help you with the issue."

"I know you would," Kitana said, and Jade's smile was warm enough to lighten up her spirit just a little. Kitana eyed the notebook that Jade had placed on the table, "What's that?"

"This?" Jade asked while pointing at the notebook, and Kitana nodded, "It's for the routines at the academy today. I trust my memory, but preparing a little reminder is never bad."

"Can I see?" Kitana asked, and Jade was more than willing to hand the notebook over. The princess eyed over the contents and her eyes fell upon a blank space, "Why the open spot?"

"It's for the newcomer," Jade started, and Kitana scoffed. Jade chose to ignore it, "I've been assigning either the most mundane tasks or the extremely physically straining ones to him, but none have worn him to the bone. I'm quite relieved, to say the least."

"How can you say that?" Kitana asked, albeit with more shock than anything, "He viciously assaulted me, yet here you say you're relieved that his punishment isn't up to par with what it should be?"

"A personal gripe of yours, your Royalty," Jade explained, "but he's one of the most skilled warriors on the grounds. Whatever you believe to feel, we can use his skills to our advantage. And unlike you, I realise the implications that come from the fact that he doesn't quit a straining task, be it physical or psychological."

"Yes, your pragmatic approach is to be lauded,'' Kitana said. The ebony laughed inwardly at the Princess' insults, as they never quite struck the right nerve, "If only your efforts were spent on someone who doesn't die when he's not even a century old."

"As far as I'm concerned, he'll accomplish more in a few years than the rest of the students will in decades," Jade said, and Kitana scoffed once more. Jade's patience was tested once more with the princess' stubbornness, "I have to depart now, Kitana. I hope you will spend the rest of your day in a better mood."

Kitana only responded with a mild huff, and Jade rolled her eyes before standing up from her seat and leaving the dining hall. She felt sorry for all the servants who would be berated for a meal that would be too hot for the princess. It was a cruel fate for under-appreciated workers.

The bodyguard descended the stairs outside the palace, taking care as to not trip over her own feet, The stairs were always treacherous, especially when there would have been a tremendous downpour in the night. Several people had broken bones when they were careless, and she'd rather not join them.

She picked up her pace as she reached the end of the stairs, passing the occasional bystander, who all bowed in respect. She returned the gesture without stopping, and in little more than five minutes, she reached the gates of the academy. The gates opened and she was met with the armoured silhouette of a guard. By the helmet wobbling on his head, she could tell who it was.

"Good morning, Eric," she greeted, and the young sentry bowed in respect, "Feeling well?"

"I'm feeling well, ma'am," he replied, his eyes shooting up and down, "Tired, is all."

"Except your eyes, I understand?" she said, and Eric instinctively looked away. She chuckled at his discomfort, "Don't worry about it. You learn more discipline with age."

"Thank you for your leniency, ma'am," he said, all the while still looking away, "I won't bother you any more than I already have."

Jade nodded to the sentry and while she passed him by, she laid a hand on his shoulder plate. She felt his entire being shiver from the touch, and she could only smile behind her mask. Making her way inside the main building, she grabbed her notebook to skim through her notes, but from just outside the door, she could hear shuffling inside.

Once she stepped inside, she could see the massive man practising his technique, moving slowly and punching the air. Tiny strands of energy were cast from his fist, and his entire arm had small branches of orange thunder dancing on it. She heard someone on the stairs next to her, and saw Kilamon descending down them.

"So how many days has he been up at this hour?" she asked, and Kilamon only sighed at her question.

"I think this is the twenty-sixth day, Jade," he answered, "but I haven't figured out why, exactly."

"Should I ask?" she said, and he laughed at her.

"Tau'Gir tried to, and all the man did was grunt at every question," Kilamon said, "Clearly, he has no interest sharing whatever he may be thinking."

"Maybe I'll change that," Jade said, "After all, I am quite persuasive."

"With all the assets you've accrued, I'm surprised you can't get everything you want the moment you snap your fingers," he joked, and she didn't need even need to glance in his direction to see the wink.

"You humour me," she said, elbowing him in the process, "But I won't deny I use my arsenal once in a while to coerce the unwilling."

"And you think that'll work with him?" Kilamon said, pointing his finger towards Chronos, "It's obvious he harbours some resentment towards us."

"I've been softening him up in the last few weeks," she said, "and he's more talkative than you imagine. Of course, asking him how he feels right out of the gate is a poor strategy to deduce his thoughts."

"Fair enough," Kilamon agreed, "but I want to see and hear more than just a theoretical approach at his distant behaviour."

"Don't worry," she said, "I'll figure him out."

Kilamon nodded before leaving her to her duties. She herself strode over towards Chronos, her notebook out. She had left an open space for him in the routine, but there were still many pages left for her to scribble down his thoughts. She hoped it wouldn't bother him all too much.

He himself hadn't noticed her yet as he continued his training. Likely, he was perfecting his strikes, but from what she'd seen during his stay and what she'd heard from the other overseers, he needed little perfecting. She did not like to admit fault, but he was very well a valuable addition to the academy. She often oversaw the Queen's eye for talent, whether the talent had strings attached or not.

The man did eventually notice her, but didn't acknowledge her yet. She decided to start scribbling at the moment to draw his attention, and he was clearly interested in what she was writing.

"What'ya got there?" he asked, and she showed a blank note, save for a few incoherent scribblings. He chuckled at it, "Clever."

"You're a very hard man to talk to," she noted, "From what I've heard, you have the vocabulary of a caveman."

"Close, but no cigar," he quipped, but it wasn't a quip she was familiar with, so she nodded, "I'd rather not spill what I dream about the first few weeks I spent in what could as well be an alien planet. At least you don't look ugly."

"I'll accept your flattery," she said, and he laughed just a bit, "But I won't pry too deep yet. I'll start rather impersonal, something I ask always everyone."

"Almost everyone?" he asked.

"You were on the list of people I initially would have left alone," she explained, "but a few things were cleared up, and your perceived malevolent intentions were nothing but wild speculations."

"From who?" he asked, but she already knew he knew the answer. He wasted no time, "A shame."

"How so?" she asked, taken aback at his rather cool reaction.

"She reminds me of myself a bit," he started, "I used to be a brash, rude, self-absorbed man with a huge ego."

"How so?" she asked, choosing to let the equation slide. She was getting far ahead of herself, as she didn't expect him to let loose his history with old acquaintances. She didn't complain, it was just in contradiction with what he'd shown lately.

"I used to fight underground, in the basements of bars and the like," he explained, and she frowned, "It was a vent for my fighting spirit. If I was sparring with my friends, I could never hurt them all too bad. Once the gloves came off, a broken jaw was common."

"And how come you changed?" she asked.

"Met my girlfriend at one of those places," he continued, and Jade raised a brow at the mention, "she wasn't very fond of me either. I was exceptionally cocky that evening, since I was on a winning streak. She challenged me for my earnings, and I agreed."

"Didn't you need any of it?" she asked. To be honest, she wasn't going to apply her usual suave and sensual approach here, as the man was far from uncooperative in their little chat.

"Money was never a concern," he explained, "My parents were rich enough so I could practically do whatever I wanted."

"An odd choice, I must say," she remarked.

"Guess so," he agreed, "Felt natural to me."

"So what did happen after you accepted the girl's challenge?" she asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

"People cleared out space in the room for the fight," he began again, "They'd never seen her before, and I was among those people. I started off with a haymaker to see how she'd react to it."

"What was the usual reaction?" she asked.

"Most of the times, they'd duck and use a haymaker of their own," he explained, "And by then, I usually decided to cash in quick and get a move on. Sometimes they'd put up more of a fight, but it wasn't a significant difference."

"I can already guess what happened," Jade remarked.

"She blocked it with her elbow and hit me face first with her free hand, and I'd forgotten how much getting hit hurt," he said, and he managed to smile for a split second, "She didn't stop though. A few clean hits on the side of my ribcage woke me up damn fast. I got more serious at that point, but she hadn't even warmed up."

"So I can assume you lost?" she guessed.

"Just barely," he said, "I had mass and strength, she had the speed and agility. Turns out that you can't do a lot if you can't hit anybody."

"Naturally," she joked, "But you show no signs of being a sloth. I assume things changed?"

"She came to talk to me afterwards," he said, "Came to cheer me up after my loss. I told her that I didn't mind, but I was lying trough my teeth at that point. She saw right through the lies though. Gave me a few tips for some reason."

"Like what?" she asked.

"None pertaining to fighting," he told Jade, "but she advised me to do some exercises before the fight. Breathing, tai chi, all that kinds of stuff."

"Tai chi?" Jade inquired, and Chronos nodded, realising the term was foreign.

"It comes down to performing techniques," he elaborated, "but in a slow, steady pace. It's to help you achieve a calm, balanced state. And the breathing is obvious."

"Why did she recommend that?" Jade asked. She was almost shocked by her own inquisitive nature at this point, for it was the longest conversation she has had in a few weeks.

"She saw me before the fight," he answered, "She noticed I don't prepare a lot."

"What happened after she said that?" she asked.

"I called her stupid and said I didn't need it," he said, "She replied that she wouldn't have beaten me if I had prepared properly, but I scoffed at it."

"You said you changed," Jade quipped, and he laughed at it, "No offence of course."

"None taken," he accepted her apology, "But I haven't been acting all too nice either. It's fair to say that you have to get to know me before I even start acting decently."

"Ah," was all she said, but it was enough for him to catch her drift.

"I did know she had a point, so I signed up for a training centre," he continued, "I didn't need the fighting practice, but the tai chi could help me out a lot. By chance, I happened to run into her. She looked a lot prettier in proper light, and her clothes were about as form fitting as yours."

"Quite the sight, so to speak," Jade said, only mildly bothered with his rather crude remark.

"I didn't even notice it at first," he said, "It was her eyes. Damn near perfect, they were, a beautiful hazelnut brown that very much tantalised my soul."

"What did you do after seeing her?" she asked. Her conversation with the man was taking quite long.

"I did consider walking away," he said, "but I decided to sit this one out. She was very light-hearted for being bruised all over by me."

"Weren't her allies concerned about her injuries?" Jade asked.

"They knew of her little hobby," he explained, "Even then, they were mostly superficial. She patched up quite fast for someone bloodied and scratched. Nothing but bruises on her thigh and arm and the hint of a black eye."

"So she wasn't even upset you found her?" she asked, "Wasn't she even surprised to find you finding her own training ground?"

"She never gave a name," he said, "So when I found her, it was pure coincidence."

"So what was her name?" she asked.

"Alex," he said, "I didn't think it fitting for a girl, but overtime, I warmed up to it."

"What else did you warm up to?" she asked.

"She helped me at the start with my breathing," he said, "She helped out with steadying in in general, outside of fighting. She helped me out with my tai chi, and eventually, we grew close."

"How close is close?" she asked.

"She and I got hot and heavy after half a year," he explained, "After I helped her with her own problems. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep her problems to myself now. I already feel that I talked too much."

"Don't worry about it, it's your secret to keep," she promised. Jade did however feel the need to tease him, "Say, you don't see any similarities between that situation and..."

"Well, obviously," he said, "but she's a princess, I'm the guy that beat her up. No living way in hell she'd ever see something in me."

"I wouldn't be too sure of yourself," Jade remarked, "She's into the fringe and niche people. She swooned over an Outworld artist, of all people."

"I guess Outworld is just like Earthrealm and Edenia?" he asked, but the grim shadow that fell over Jade's face answered his question for the greatest part.

"Outworld and Edenia have poor relationships," she said, but they way she said it implied something far greater, "but nothing to concern yourself about."

"It's recent, I guess?" he asked, "Because I skimmed through your history books, and Outworld has almost no mention at all, with the exception of a few species that crossed over from there."

"What did you read about us?" she asked, subtly deflecting the point at hand.

"Well, for starters, I read about your biology," he said, "The fact that your average age is nearly fifty thousand years is something odd, but your kind being descendants of gods make it a bit more acceptable."

"And anything else?" she asked.

"For starters, I know what year it is back home," he said, "And it unsettles me."

"How come?" she asked.

"The portal I came back through hurled me four thousand years in the past," he said rather casually, much to the wonder of the ebony, "Can anybody send people back in time?"

"Perhaps," she said, "But none I know of would have any motive to bring you to Edenia. Even then, timebenders are rare, and if they would want to send you here, they would have to be present at the portal to send you back."

"Odd," he said, but he did not expand upon his train of thought, instead mentioning something else, "I've read about the Mistmarch too," he said, and Jade frowned at it, "I guess you don't get along well."

"Their raids leave us terrified," she explained, "But we do have apt soldiers and warriors at our side who can stave off their assault."

"Their reasons perplex me," he said, "I don't see the reason for them invading."

"Many of them descend from the god of Tyros, Conquest," she elaborated, "And many of us here either stem from Ariana, Messenger and Megos, Discipline. We do not condone their ideology, but we cannot afford an all-out war against them. We have little other information regarding them, and few pools of knowledge remain about them. Ruins are rarely found, albeit in despicable state. Shame however. From the two ruins I've seen, their art is mystical and purposeful."

"As in..." Chronos asked.

"They carve stories of conquest and war in their temples," she said, "But they also carved the story of a plague that swept through their lands, and only with spiritual guidance did they managed to overcome it. Perhaps it was their punishment from a dissatisfied god, perhaps it was natural."

They stood before each other for some time, and they noticed their weary legs almost caving in from exhaustion, with Chronos' training catching up and Jade's speedy trek to the academy suddenly revealing its presence.

"Thanks for the talk," he said despite both of them collapsing from sore legs, "It's the first long talk I had in a while."

"Likewise," she said, and he barely noticed her sad tone, "I see the dawn's light has brightened. I'm to wake up the other students. However, if you do need aid for your insomnia, we have an apothecary on the grounds. You could go see him if you feel like it."

"Thanks for the tip," he said, "But I don't think it'll help."

Jade was about to comment on it, but she didn't want to intrude on his feelings even more now. It was clear he was homesick, and while she did know what the absence of family could feel like, she didn't know how it would feel to know you aren't even born yet, but still breathing and walking in the past. A shivering and frightening thought to say the least.

Chronos himself had left the building, standing in the bright sun that warmed his skin. If anything, the cool breeze that swept through the grounds perfectly complimented the hot weather. He approached the young guard at the gate, who was apparently opening the gates.

"Sorry," Chronos said, making the guard spin around. His wobbly helmet humoured him perpetually, "but do you know where the apothecary's residence is?"

"Certainly," he said, "It's behind the student's quarters, taking a left, and the first building to your right."

Chronos nodded to the guard and left him to to his job. It was eerily quiet and deserted, and he wasn't used to being far away from the training centre. He found the apothecary's residence fairly fast, in no less thanks to the odd architecture of the building. Most of the grounds were rather bland and formal, a mixture of white marble and purple roof tiles, but this one was a wooden structure, with lanterns on each corner of the overhanging roof. It did remind him of a lonesome witch's hut in the middle of the woods.

He opened the door, and the stench of chemicals protruded his nostrils without mercy. The apothecary was clearly busy with something new, but he wasn't on the ground floor. There was a desk with a small bell on it, so he rung it. It took a while, but the stench wore off and the apothecary descended down the stairs with audibly big stomps. He appeared in the doorway behind the desk, but his appearance had him mildly baffled.

The man was quite tall, not as tall as himself but it was only a difference of a few inches. His entire figure was covered by a cloak, a leathery one kept neat and clean, and all he could see was his feet and part of his calves and shins, large and fairly muscled. What caught his eye the most was the mask, one that echoed in his head as eldritch, with half a skull-like face on top, tentacles straight down from that part on.

"Well, I didn't fancy any visitors yet this morning," he said, and his voice was formal and cool, but young, "and I surely do not recognise your face. Tell me, who are you?"

"Chronos, sir," he replied, and the man chuckled.

"Raised well, I see," he said, "I am Caine, your local apothecary. I presume mistress Jade had you sent here?"

"She advised me to," Chronos answered.

"Naturally," he said, "Fighting on little sleep is detrimental to your performance."

"Sleep isn't for the weak then?" Chronos asked.

"Sleep is necessary," he said, "While it might occur that you have to stay awake for more than a day, a well spent rest ensures you won't fall to slumber halfway through your guard duty. Say, why are you up so soon?"

Chronos eyed Caine with a slight frown casting a shadow over his eyes, but the apothecary only chuckled at his demeanor.

"Don't be so sour," he said, "it's only good-natured teasing. But I do have what you seek. I you mind, I'll retrieve it from the back room."

The apothecary disappeared into the next room, and Chronos was left to inspect the room on his own. There were an awful lot of shelves, each filled with elixers and potions, varying in size, shape and colour. There was also the occasional beast head mounted on the wall. One was clearly of a bear, while he couldn't figure out which animals the other ones belonged to. After a minute or two, the apothecary appeared again, with a small bottle of blue liquid in his hand.

"This might help," he said, "You should add two drops of it to a glass of water before you sleep. Not any more, it might make you liable to spend the whole day in bed."

"Thanks," he said as he accepted the vial and went to the door. But he was stopped by Caine.

"Where do you come from, Chronos?" he asked.

"Earthrealm, sir," he answered, and Caine looked like he straightened out just a tad bit.

"Interesting," he said. Chronos noticed something in his voice reverberating, but he didn't ask, "I look forward to meeting you again, Chronos."

Chronos left the apothecary to his own devices. It was clear Caine wasn't from around here, but he was obviously not well informed yet about the cultural differences between this kingdom and other ones. Perhaps he came from this Outworld he had spotted once or twice in the history records. He'd have to find a few more books about it.

He came around the students' residences to find the main yard occupied by two people, each quite scantily clad. One was clearly Jade, the other was also too recognisable. He could hear their chatter from afar, albeit in a low, hushed tone.

"You do have an eye for talent, my Queen," the ebony said, "I do apologise for doubting your decision after the man's attendance. His performance impressed many of the overseers, save for Tau'Gir."

"I do remember him," the Queen reminisced, "Poor fellow is so incredibly formal. I must say, has that man even been outside of the compounds since he moved in? Or is he caught up in administrative work?"

"To his duties he is bound," Jade said, "Shameful. He could've been much more if he had focused his talents elsewhere."

"Tau'Gir is a former soldier," Sindel mentioned, "The man deserves to be at home in paperwork if he feels he's comfortable in it."

"Of course, I never implied to discredit him for his former achievements," Jade said, "But it is a shame to see talent outside of your reach."

"I can share your sentiment," Sindel added, but before she could finish her sentence, Chronos had walked up to the duo, "Ah, I see you're up as well?"

"Unfortunately," he said, "Mind if I keep it short? I feel like I've been mildly slacking lately, and I want to get back into my routine again."

Sindel looked over to Jade, then back at Chronos, and a devious little experiment appeared within her mind.

"Say, why don't you two spar then?" Sindel proposed, to both of the warriors' surprise, "A friendly spar, of course, to get motivated."

The emerald bodyguard and half-naked man glanced at each-other for a brief moment, before they both nodded.

"Excellent," Sindel said, "A perfect chance to see your progress. Do make sure my faith and gratitude weren't misplaced."

"I'll make sure, ma'am," he said. Sindel couldn't get used to his way of addressing her, as it reminded her of times long before now. Before she was swallowed by daydreams, she was torn from her mind by both warriors striding towards the middle of the courtyard. Sindel was always perplexed by the physique of Jade. Firm, but curvaceous, and far stronger than her appearance implies. She was never surprised by the close friendship her daughter and Jade had.

Chronos, however, was more in line with a juggernaut, a mass of muscle and fat that could bust through a wall at any time. Moreover, his very defined jaws and brow, coupled with deeply socketed eyes and an everlasting frown could fool you into thinking he was much more a villain than a hero. Luckily, she hadn't heard or seen more vile things from the man after the one altercation.

Some pupils had managed to pull themselves out of bed and watch from a distance, some perched on the terrace by the main building, some near the canal around the courtyard. Both the man and woman gave each other a proper greeting, Jade with a bow, Chronos with a bump on his Mark. It took a painstaking several seconds for the both of the to get into position.

Jade was the first to open with a fast shadow kick, her form blurred by the speed and green shade. Chronos effortlessly swatted her foot away and thrust a double palm into her abdomen, sending her careening back to the edge of the courtyard's battleground. Her muscles burned with much pain, but she raised herself up to see the big mass of muscle dashing towards her with unparalleled speed, attempting to sweep her legs from underneath her with a shin-crushing kick. She used her sole to kick the foot away and retaliated with a volley of blows of her own.

With what looked like little effort, Chronos swatted them away and grabbed her. She expected to just be flipped over, but her instead slung her over his shoulders and several yards into the air, crashing down to earth with much force. She flipped up, unsheathing her pole, to which Chronos immediately dashed towards her and put on the pressure, a flurry of fist directed at every inch of skin exposed. Jade blocked them all, and with a graceful twist, poked him in his belly before tapping the side of his head and right side of his left knee, crumpling him slightly.

He went for a straight punch and she prepared to block it, but he feinted the fist and seamlessly flowed into a shoulder. The impact slid her across the ground, all the while still in a blocking stance, and she was barely able to dodge the massive ball of energy Chronos launched at her. It skidded just past her arm, the electrifying presence giving her goosebumps. Chronos had already thrown several smaller energy balls, and Jade slithered between them, ready to give her opponent the business end of her pole. She appeared from behind of a thrown energy ball, hitting him straight in the sternum.

But the reaction was far different from what she anticipated. Chronos was engulfed by lightning, blowing her back a couple dozen feet. Chronos now had a glowing tattoo, along with his Mark and a few minor scars across his chest. Red lightning danced across his body, and his muscles seemed to tense up even more. He now floated across the ground towards her, and she just missed out on a breakfast full of fist. She created some distance, and he wasted no time closing it again, relentlessly throwing strikes at Jade to seemingly wear her out.

Jade managed to create some longer lasting space, and Chronos launched another energy ball, albeit with one hand this time, but no less powerful. Jade used her staff to swat it back into his face, knocking him back a little bit. She began poking him with her staff, in his side, on his head, on his legs, everywhere she could hit him, and the constant pokes began showing, as Chronos began mildly limping, holding one of his ribs while still putting up a damn good fight. He could put on just as much pressure with one hand as he could with two, but his stamina began to run dry, and he couldn't keep it up forever.

With one final blow, Jade wanted to claim victory before Chronos could manage to recover, with a last shadow kick, she sped over towards him. In time, however, she saw his hand raised in an x-form above his head, and halted her own momentum to back-flip out of whatever was coming. What did come was about as terrifying as it was awe-inspiring. From Chronos' position erupted a massive geyser of swirling energy, coloured like the sun, reaching sky high into the single cloud that floated above the compound. It dispersed the cloud, and the beam of energy continued to rage for a second or two, before finally settling down.

Chronos was now on one knee, supported by a single arm, panting heavily, his body bruising from all the times she punted him with her staff. Lifting his chin up with her pole, she looked him straight in the eyes, revealing a tinge of orange in his ires and what looked like confusion.

"Yield," she commanded, and Chronos had little choice.

"I yield," he said, his voice raspy from exhaustion, "You win."

She smiled, but inwardly she couldn't shake the feeling that he had no intent of unleashing that power. She helped him up, and she could see his eyes shoot everywhere in thought. She wanted to ask, but she'd imagine it to be inappropriate. She decided to leave him be, and instead decided to share her thought with the Queen, now also deep in thought, one arm beneath her bosom, two fingers to her lips. Jade approached, and she heard the footsteps of someone behind her.

"Interesting end result," Sindel said, with Jade and Kilamon looking at each other, "I didn't expect him to unleash such a powerful technique."

"It might have not been his own doing," Kilamon noted, and Sindel's eyes widened shortly.

"I'm of the same mind as my companion," Jade agreed, "It seems he was processing his own actions."

"So, what does that mean, exactly?" Sindel asked.

"I felt a surge of power from somewhere else that wasn't his soul in those last few seconds," Kilamon explained, "Funnelled through his soul. It might be worth inquiring about."

"Not now," Jade said, "Somewhere in the next couple of weeks. It gives him time to recover and contemplate."

"Excellent," Sindel said, "I want you to keep me up to date about his progress and any abnormalities he may show. It would be unfortunate if this compound is reduced to cinders if he burst like that again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Queen," both Jade and Kilamon said in unison. Sindel left them to their own devices, as they eyed each other one last time before attending to their own tasks. Meanwhile, all Chronos did was stand in the courtyard, thinking about what he just did. He swore he heard a voice, but maybe it was just his imagination. He shrugged it off eventually and returned inside to calm his mind. He only had one thought surging through his mind.

 _"Hope it doesn't get worse."_

* * *

Back at it again with the trash upload schedule. I don't feel all too confident about this chapter, but I'm my own worst enemy, so leave behind your thoughts, R&R, favourite, follow, SMASH that like button, and have a nice day. If you notice disrepancies in the story or think the story is big doodoo, let me know.


	4. I-IV: Shadow of a Colossus

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter 4**

 **Shadow Of A Colossus**

* * *

The crowd seemed unending, swarming to the plaza as the stage was set. The merchants came running to sell their stock and the peasants had boards with their preferred contestant. The name Kilamon came up more than enough times, as well as a few less known or favoured, such as Darren and Selina. On the stage sat the Royal Family, the King and Queen almost front and centre, with only what appeared to be an entertainer and a single stand between them. Behind them sat the emerald bodyguard and sapphire princess, who were respectively happy and peeved.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome!" the entertainer shouted, "Today marks the 453rd Decennial Tournament of the Iron Soul. Once again, many promising contestants from all around, from east to west, from the bustling cities to the lonesome mountain tops, have been nominated. But I alone can decide who contends and who is sent back to prepare for the next time!"

A thunderous roar erupted from the crowds, and the King and Queen smiled at the crowd.

"Today, we will be presented with the best of the best, the warriors who may stand the test of time and be immortalised in the history books and become legendary! When they become heroes, they will look back and see this one moment, and that this one moment has shaped their destiny!"

The man was done, and the crowd could not stop cheering. One woman could not appreciate the effort, however.

"You have to admit," Jade began, "he gave a rousing speech."

"Superfluous propaganda for a useless event," Kitana remarked, "If I could contend, none would be left for the history books."

"I believe in your skills," the ebony said, "but both you and I have witnessed some remarkable individuals. Your skills are to be matched by many."

"Nonsense," she replied, "You only believe so because you teach such people. And look at where your pupils are now."

Jade was to respond, but the entertainer reignited his exhilarating speech.

"Now, let us begin our selection! Sixteen cities, all bringing for some of their best warriors, will now be selected blindly by yours truly! Only two of each city can contend, so they have been separated into sixteen boxes! If you are not to participate, fret not! The luck of the draw might favour you next time!"

The crowd did not stop to take a breath in between their chants, and it bothered Kitana to no end.

"Peasants," she began, "So eager to be noticed with little to say."

"Not all are blessed with you position, my princess," Jade said, "Perhaps they just enjoy the show presented to them, without any underlying motives to be heard and seen by the higher-ups."

The entertainer began flinging names left to right, and the crowd continued cheering.

"As always so optimistic, my dear friend," Kitana replied, "Truly a people person you are."

"I was born amongst people and raised among nobility," the emerald bodyguard mentioned, "Forgive me for rationalising your thoughts."

Kilamon came up in the names, and the crowd exploded.

"My thoughts are my own to hold," the princess remarked, "I do not attempt to rationalise, as you call it, your thoughts when I disagree."

"No, you tend to passively eye me from across the room," Jade quipped, and Kitana did not like it, "A fairly healthy action."

More names, followed by more cheering from the people.

"Just because I act different does not imply your method is better," the princess said, "I say that sometimes your optimism gets the better of you."

"More times my optimism has been rewarded than your pessimism, your highness," Jade said, "I say that is more than enough empirical evidence to suggest my method bears more fruit."

"I suppose," Kitana said, sounding mildly defeated, "but lately, my pessimism has gotten the better of me. I apologise, but that is the way I feel lately."

Jade was to comment, but she noticed the crowd grew eerily quiet, and when she looked up, the King and Queen had a vivid conversation with the man reading the names. Jade approached quickly, hoping to discern why the crowd had lost their enthusiasm so quickly.

"My King and Queen, what seems to be the issue?" she asked, and the King looked at her with fury, and the Queen bore a worrisome face.

"It appears there have been some administrative issues," Sindel said, and Jerrod frowned at that, "for a name has been selected we wouldn't have expected."

"So what do I do then?" the entertainer asked, "Reverse the choice?"

"No," the King interjected, stroking his full beard, "perhaps the time is ripe to test his skill. My lovely wife had faith in him, and while I do not trust him, I stand behind my wife's decision."

"My dear, perhaps it is too soon," she disagreed, "After all, I suspect he isn't yet fully acclimated to our traditions."

"Then this will be a practical exam," Jerrod said, "Besides, all I've heard from here and there is that he is more than able to fight."

Jade figured who it was without much issue, but it brought to light the oddness of this situation. Chronos had perhaps little knowledge in this regard, let alone the knowledge to actively seek out a way to participate in the tournament. Either someone signed him up, or a fairy tossed his name in the bowl and hoped for the best.

With a quick turn, Jade faced her friend, who was impatiently tapping the floor with her feet.

"Your highness, I have to depart," the ebony said, much to the chagrin of the princess, "It appears there have been administrative issues and I'd like to discover as to how it happened."

"Very well," she said, almost letting a stereotypical sigh escape her lips, "but if you have time, can you pick up some blueberry cake? We've run out, and I hope a patisserie still has one or two left."

"Most certainly, my friend," Jade agreed, and Kitana managed to let a small smile form on her lips. The bodyguard left the princess to her parents, who were still having a discussion, and jogged towards the Academy. In no less than five minutes, she reached the gate, and when they opened, she could see the big man practising on the courtyard, sparring with one of the other students.

She didn't wait to greet him, and he didn't seem to care enough to bother her. She did see Aszara on the terrace, overlooking the sparring duo. Jade approached her, and the other woman's eyes shot towards her.

"Ah, Jade," she began, taking a sip from her glass. The smell was intoxicating in many ways, "Care to join me? I've prepared some drinks for the day."

"It isn't even past noon," Jade noted, and Aszara merely shrugged.

"It doesn't matter all too much," she argued, "and besides, the weather's nice, the shadow's cool, and the drinks are tasty."

She seemed to be lost in her drink, swirling in her glass. She snapped out of it a few seconds later, turning her pale green eyes back to the ebony.

"So if you don't want a drink, what do you want?"

"Chronos has been admitted to the tournament," Jade said, and Aszara finished the thought.

"Which means he has actually been picked," she surmised, "and by extension, it means anyone else in the tournament has got some serious challenge."

"You believe so?" Jade inquired, and the lounging woman nodded in agreement.

"Whatever he did last time, with the whole beam to the sky stuff," she started, her arms upward, "He's been looking for ways to use his power some other way besides fireballs. Flashy kicks, lightning spears, that sort of things. But he's still just technically too good to be threatened by anyone here. At least, the pupils."

"The tournament is not like here," Jade said, and Aszara sipped from her drink before replying.

"Correct," she said, "which means I will be watching from my seat in the arena to witness him, as he would say it, curbstomp some idiots."

She stared at her drink again.

"Are you sure you don't want a sip, fellow overseer?" she teased Jade, to which Jade only responded by taking the glass and letting it all slide down her throat, the cool drink reaching far into her core.

"I do always forget you create some fantastic drinks," Jade quipped, while handing back the glass, "but I haven't asked you my question yet."

"Go ahead," Aszara said.

"I was wondering if he either left the grounds or someone else signed him up for the tournament," the ebony explained, "Could you enlighten me?"

"Sorry, but I'm a dead end," she said, "I haven't seen him leave the grounds, and I haven't signed him up. You're better off asking Kilamon. He's out more than anyone else. Tau'Gir wouldn't even try to sign him up, so don't bother the guy."

"I see," Jade said, "I thank you for your help."

"Anytime, sweetheart," she said, and with that, she resumed looking at Chronos, basking in sunlight, his sweat gleaming. Jade stared at her in wonder, and Aszara noticed, "He's just very, very huge and muscled. He's a sight for sore eyes. Except for maybe his face, too serious all the time."

Jade gave a quick glance at the man before eventually leaving the woman to gawk at him. She headed inside to find Kilamon, but on the first step of the stairs, he bumped into her. He was carrying a lot of boxes, so most of him was hidden behind it

"Oh, my apologies. Jade," he excused, and he moved to let her by, but she stopped him.

"I was actually looking for you," she said, "I have a question."

"Oh, sure," he said, putting down the boxes, "What do you want to ask?"

"Chronos has been admitted to the tournament," Jade began, "and I need to know whether you saw him leave or if you signed him up."

"No, I haven't done either of those," he said, "And even if I wanted to, he would need credentials. Birth year, city, the necessities and such. And I have none of those, and technically, nor does he. Someone else might have done it for him, but that would include forgery of documents, something I suspect none here master."

"Ah well, I suppose it's better to watch the story unfold then," Jade said, "You've been selected as well."

"Very good," he said, "I haven't tested his mettle yet, and I'm sure he can match up to mine."

"Confidence or bravado?" Jade asked, and through the sockets of the skull, she could see his face deforming because of his grin.

"Only time can tell," he said, and with that, he picked up his boxes and walked off. Jade was left to wonder about the whole situation. She can only speculate about how Chronos managed to admit himself to the pool of warriors without being seen. For now, however, she would let this story run its course, as she was intrigued by the potential outcome of the tournament if he would enter. She walked back outside, ready to join Aszara for a drink.

* * *

An almost absurd amount of people had gathered in front of the arena's entrance. It might be the most visited tournament in several decades, with some top tier entertainment awaiting inside. In the week after selection, the news that a human of unknown regions had been selected, and that said human had assaulted royalty and lived to tell about it, drew in people from the borders of the continent. People from Alduen to Feldrid came to see the possible frightening and hilarious outcome of a human winning.

The actual preparation room, where many of the warriors were already gathered, was brimming with energy. Contestants showing their tricks, letting tiny dragons of fire dance cross their palms, some floating only a few inches above the ground.

Kilamon sat in the corner, reading reports of the coastal cities nearest to the capital. There had been sightings of several foreign ships, never coming too close for anyone to be harmed. But the sightings themselves were worrisome, and he hoped that nothing too bad would come of it.

As he was reading, a woman approached him. He did remember her, as she was the champion of four decades ago, unfortunately dethroned through non-participation due to family emergencies. Here she looked as peppy as ever, ready to claim victory once again.

"I've seen you around here once or twice," she began, twirling her golden hair, "You're an overseer at that Academy, right?"

"Correct," Kilamon replied, eyes still focused on the reports.

"I'm Ariana, it's good to meet you," she said, and she offered her hand. Kilamon shook it, although he was confused as to why she was introducing herself.

"I am Kilamon," he said, "Why the formal introduction? We part after this tournament."

"Not exactly," she explained, "I'm to come live here, and I'll probably be transferred to your Academy to continue my training. I hope it doesn't bother you."

Kilamon laughed at her politeness and ignorance.

"Sweetheart, you're probably going to be the second best pupil on the grounds," he quipped, and she raised an eyebrow.

"It's that bad?" she asked.

"Perhaps it's all relative," Kilamon started, "but compared to the last batches of students, these have been lacklustre. Except for a handful, of course."

"But you said I'd be second best," she asked, "so your best are still worse than me?"

"Once again, correct," Kilamon said.

"So who is the best, according to you?" she inquired, and the answer came waltzing through the doorway at that very moment. He was dressed quite conservatively, a big blue cloak covering everything but his head. What was barely to be seen was the improvement on his pants, reaching just to his ankles, and the rope that held it up was now replaced with a belt-like thing, with two merged, diverging dragon heads spitting out rope. The pants itself appeared to be very modest, a grey one with minor blue accents and trim, while his hands and feet appeared to be wrapped still, albeit refreshed.

He marched over to Kilamon and Ariana. Both of them could see the awe of the other contestants. Some were only an inch or two smaller, some a whole feet as he walked by, his sheer weight shaking the room a tiny bit. Ariana was impressed at his sheer size, with her six feet and three inches being dwarfed by his at least half a foot taller body. Kilamon stood up to shake his hand, and the burly man gracefully accepted it.

"Kilamon, glad to see I'm gonna have to roll up my sleeves just a bit," Chronos quipped, and Kilamon feigned offence.

"Just a bit?" he mocked, "I had hoped you would hold me up to a higher esteem."

"Consider it a compliment," Chronos said, "If the contestants here as as good as the pupils back at the Academy, I'm set to snatch victory."

"Now hold on there, soldier," Ariana interjected, "Former champion attending again."

"Oh, my apologies," Chronos said, much too kind, "I believe we haven't been properly introduced."

"We haven't been," she said, and extended her hands once again, "I'm Ariana."

"Chronos," he said, returning the gesture, "So, former champion, what made you lose your status?"

"Ah, family issues," she began, "One of my grandmothers had fallen very ill, and I had to come home to help take care of her."

"Sounds like a rough time," he said, and she raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, but back home taking care of a very ill person is deceptively time-consuming. I couldn't do it if I wanted to."

"It was the fourth time she fell ill, so I was already trained so to say," she elaborated, "So don't worry about it."

At that point, a woman walked in.

"Dear contestants, please occupy your transmission pads," she said, "The arena is about to open. You have five minutes."

Just as fast as she had walked in, she walked out.

"Looks like we have to cut our conversation short," Ariana said, "I hope to see you in the Arena, Kilamon. And you as well, Chronos."

"Likewise," Kilamon replied, Chronos only nodded his head in response, "May the best contestant win."

With quite a brisk pace, she walked to the competitor entrance to the Arena, just falling behind the others. Chronos and Kilamon were far less quick on their feet, opting for a slower pace. They didn't say a lot to each other, with the mammoth man eyeing the Earthrealmer, who was mostly loosening up his joints.

A minute of silence passed by, a full silent walk, before they arrived at the pads. Many had their family say their piece of good luck and inspiring words. While Kilamon didn't think of it much, he noticed something flicker in Chronos' eyes, but that flicker had died down just as fast as it had started. Chronos took off his robe, revealing the massive frame hidden underneath.

"I suppose this is where we say good luck to each other," Kilamon said. Chronos stuck out his hand and Kilamon gladly liked to shake it, but the burly man pulled back his hand, stroking his hair with it, "You're a bit of a prick sometimes."

Chronos only gave a sly grin before heading to one of the pads far off in the back. He wondered how far his old life was behind him, realising it hadn't even been a couple months at best. Time had definitely flown by. He stood on the last pad, waiting to be transported to the Arena. From what he had heard, the Arena changed every time the tournament commenced. Last year, it was mostly a forested area, with a lonely hill here and there. After a couple of minutes of getting lost in thought, he felt the marble floor morph into that of unrefined rock.

Looking around, he seemed to be in a valley of red stone, with a bit of light pouring in, a grass patch here and there. Behind him, the marble walls of the Arena remained, and it appeared there was only one way, into a cave of some sorts. He approached, the darkness quickly enveloping him. Several steps later, he could see the glowing light of luminescent plants and hear the calm babbling of a stream. The poorly lit cave was long, but seemed to go straight, for at the end, a lot of light could be seen.

Carefully traversing the cave, about halfway through, he heard something step in the water. As soon as he heard it, the sound grew into steps, and instinctively, Chronos jumped forward to create some space. Turning around to see his assailant rush towards him, he struck his stance. He was prepared to fight. Unfortunately, it appeared the girl that tried to attack him didn't understand the concept of reflexes very well, because she practically lobbed a fist aimed for his face.

He rolled his eyes while simultaneously grabbing the arm, pulling her over his knee, and he gave a quick tap to the back of her head to immobilise her. He made sure she was out cold, which she was without a doubt, because she was whisked away by a pulsing ring on the ground, sending her back to the pad room, he assumed.

Thoroughly let down, he reached the light, revealing a roaring river where the stream meandered into. A single rocky bridge crossed over the river, with a stone alley bending around on the other side, some place he couldn't see. As he was halfway across the bridge, about three people popped up from the alley, and when he tried to escape from the bridge, two people had manage to come from a passage he hadn't yet seen.

The other competitors stomped over towards Chronos, who was stuck on the bridge. It wasn't small, but six people would be too much, which meant that inevitably someone would end up in the river. It was tremendously difficult to keep all his attackers at bay from this position, but Chronos would nevertheless try, maybe wearing them out. And yet, the sheer overwhelming amount of fists and feet was enough to make a stray one knock him off the bridge, sending him into the river.

Dragged along for some time, all the while struggling to keep his head, let alone his heavy body, from crashing into passing stone and disappearing beneath the surging tide. Eventually, he could feel his body float, crashing down into a very small crack in the rocks where the river turned into a meandering stream again. He got up, with a sore rear to boot, to wiggle himself out of the crack, and it revealed a straightforward path towards what only could be assumed as the centre of the Arena.

With haste, he walked towards the centre, a massive platform, with at least seven rocky crossings connecting to every end of the Arena. Beneath, he could barely see the supports, and when he walked closer, it revealed the water beneath. Far on the other side of the plateau, he could see a very familiar skull trouncing towards him. It appeared no other competitor was fast enough. Or they were knocked out.

"So it seems the prodigy is matched with the mentor, and so quickly too," Kilamon exclaimed, his voice thundering, "Many vanquished already, or did you manage to sneak by?"

From the distance, he could hear the crowds roar, exhilarated by his speech. It appeared his voice was amplified outside the Arena, and it was clear Kilamon was a favourite among the crowds.

"But before either of us slip into a monologue about our skills and prowess in kombat," he said, "let us commence. I'm sure the other competitors wouldn't want to interfere."

Chronos would want to say he couldn't care less about winning, and that the accolades and fame that came with victory were hollow and eventually material in a finite life. But he liked winning just as much as the accolades, with enough won bets back home. He was sent into a second of homesickness before assuming his stance.

Kilamon, even from several yards away, closed the gap very fast, opening with an elbow to Chronos' jaw. The big man managed to duck it in time and retaliated with a clean blow to the liver, greatly hindering Kilamon's movement. A flurry of blows followed, yet they lacked just a tad in strength to knock the mammoth man from his feet.

Recovering from a harsh blow, Kilamon went on the offence again, unleashing a cavalcade of knees and fists, hoping one would find their mark. Chronos managed to block all of them with varying degrees of difficulty, before finally catching a slow fist and flinging Kilamon over his head. Not all too high, his mammoth skull just weighed that much, but high enough to leave a lasting mark on Kilamon's body.

The overseer got up quickly, just in time to block a very strong kick, strong enough to send him tripping backwards. He remained upright at decided to take a defensive stance. Chronos, in turn, upped the ante with much more aggressive behaviour. However, while Kilamon remained fairly far away, Chronos came up real close to Kilamon, capitalising on the mistake to try and defend. Almost brushing brows, the burly man began unloading upon Kilamon, who couldn't guard all the attacks from so close. While Chronos didn't pack the punch he usually seemed to have, the sheer quantity of blows and strikes that plagued Kilamon's skin eventually began to show their marks.

Chronos could see his opponent falter, and began hitting harder, more deliberate. Once in the kidney, once in the kneecaps, once in the chin, to finally beat Kilamon into submission. Chronos employed a dash punch to knock Kilamon over the edge of the plateau, but he sidestepped just in time. Chronos was now on the edge, but the mammoth couldn't exploit his advantage, and Chronos knew. Or at the very least, they expected so.

With a mighty windup, Chronos prepared to land a final uppercut to send Kilamon reeling back, knocked out, to solidify himself as someone who could hang with the big dogs and gain more respect from the citizens, and of course, the rewards would be great. But very, _very_ unfortunately, Kilamon was patched up in a second, and acting on instinct, he dodged the uppercut and unleashed a furious strike of his own, knocking the big lug out cold, sending him rolling back over the edge, with lightning trailing behind his body.

Kilamon rushed over to see his motionless form fall into the waters below, but it was nowhere to be seen. He felt cheated out of a fair victory, and a look at the most obvious spot gave him a clue as to who was the culprit. Even the crowd had significantly decreased in volume as they too scratched their heads over this oddity.

"Well, that didn't look fair," he heard, and he turned around to see Ariana frowning, "Is this normal?"

"No," he answered, "but I have a feeling it could have been expected."

"How come?" she asked.

"Bad blood between this man and the Princess," he said, and Ariana seemed rather at a loss for words, "Ah, when you come to the Academy, I can tell you. You might even ask yourself."

"Will do," she said, and she looked around into the crowd, "These people are expecting a fight still, and I'd hate to let them down."

"I suppose," Kilamon replied, albeit with a bit of a sullen tone, "If I win, I'll just toss the medal and toss it in the sea."

Ariana only hummed at that response. She'd heard only bits and pieces during her absence, but Kilamon remained mostly uncontested in the tournaments he would enter. His shelf of medals were an apparent testament to that. Both of the took their stance to prepare their own epic battle, but it was cut short very abruptly. The plateau underneath them suddenly gave away, a roaring wave of thunder slamming through the pillars supporting it.

Crashing into the waters below, the platform was just large enough to make sure it could be stood on, only the feet of both the warriors submerged by the cool liquid. But to both their surprise, the weather had turned sour quick, frenzied thunder bolts striking down from the heavens, yet not travelling through water. Even worse, it appeared the marked man had somehow managed to not be teleported away. Floating a couple stories high, surrounded by a globe of swirling energy, he hung, his muscles twitching, his eyes sporting an eerie, sun-like glow.

At the very best, he looked _tremendously_ upset.

* * *

"Your Highness, could you stop snoozing," the emerald clad bodyguard said, "you're bothering the rest of the royal spectators."

With her eyelids half-open, she could barely help herself raise her head. Kitana had suffered from an unusually poor night's rest, brought forth by nightmares. She looked over at Jade to see her caring eyes.

"My apologies, Jade," she said, turning her head back to the Arena, "I'll attempt to refrain my weariness to myself."

"Thank you, Princess," she said, and Kitana was about to be dragged to sleep by her tired mind again, if not for Jade's always burning desire to be snarky, "You know your Highness, you are much more amicable when you're spent."

"Funny, Jade," she said, "I surmise you enjoy my poor state of being?"

"Not at all," she said, "I enjoy you in all state of beings. Nevertheless, some moments, your temper is less likely to be ignited. Such as now."

Kitana laughed at her remark. Deep down inside, she knew the emerald ebony had no ill will against her, yet in her worn state, she couldn't help but make poor decisions. When she saw her nemesis gain ground on the mammoth, she had one such poor decision enter her mind. As of now, it was a devious and well-deserved bit of payback for what he did to royalty.

"Father," she said, prompting Jerrod and Sindel to turn around, "May I test the Earthrealmer's might just a bit more?"

"What did you have in mind, my daughter?" the King asked, with the Queen already concerned.

"When the final blow will be struck, can the overseer be, let us say, patched up to continue the fight?" she suggested, with Sindel's disapproving nod telling her enough of how her plan would go.

"I wouldn't have imagined that plan myself," Jerrod said, pondering the thought, "but it would definitely test his skill."

"My King, please consider what you're about to approve," the purple-clad woman warned, "You're about to interfere-"

"Mother, please," Kitana said, "can you not empathise with me? I have been mistreated and he must have some kind of retribution, how small it may be."

An exceptionally low blow by the Princess, she knew, but her mother wouldn't budge by it. It was instead aimed at her father, who appeared to be smiling.

"Very well," Jerrod said, with Sindel's disappointed glare penetrating her daughter's soul, "Once it seems the overseer is defeated, I want him in mint condition again."

Only a couple minutes passed before Kilamon was finally inched towards the edge. Chronos missed him by a hair, but charged up another uppercut to claim victory. Just then, Jerrod waved around his hand, and a nearby healer used his magic to revitalise Kilamon again, who used his new found energy to slam Chronos off the stage, seemingly lifeless as he dropped to the waters below.

They could see Kilamon ran to the edge and once he realised Chronos was gone, his bottomless eyes found the royal seat. Another competitor came up to take some of the man's fury away from them.

"That was… underwhelming," Jerrod said, surprisingly let down, "Well, I suppose there's nothing left to do than watch the rest of the tournament unfold."

Kitana felt some kind of odd satisfaction from the ordeal. Her assailant put down a peg, discredited in the eyes of the crowd. Oh, it was delicious. Just then, some pencil pusher came up next to them, clearly in a state of distress.

"My Lord," he began, "We've some grave news."

"What is it?" Jerrod said, "About the contestant?"

"Contestants," the administrator added, "We're unable to transport the competitors back to the warp room."

"Excuse me?" Jerrod asked.

"Well, it seems a foreign sort of magic is blocking ours," he explained, "And it seems to be growing."

Just as he said that, a thunderous boom shook the Arena, and when they looked back at the Arena, the plateau had given away. The sky had turned a grizzly dark, solar lightning striking the water. It did not shake the contestants in in, however. More worrying, they could see Chronos' limp body hanging about in the sky, encompassed by a globe of solar energy.

It seemed the girl prepared to strike with her own magic, but she was promptly struck by a massive lightning spear, sliding her backwards, knocking her down. Kilamon was tossing orbs of green energy at him, but it bounced off Chronos' shield. He was now floating down slowly to engage Kilamon.

"This was a poor plan, Jerrod," Jade spoke up, remaining quiet during the process, "Administrator, can we still be transported in? To the plateau directly?"

"I wouldn't know," he said, "but we can try."

"Kitana," she ordered, making the tired Princess perk up, "You are accompanying me to clean up this mess."

With a sprint, they went to the warp room, each occupying a pad of their own, and the sorcerers did their best to get them in. The odd magic still seemed to block much of their influence, but not enough to hinder their transmission into the Arena. By the time the Princess and the bodyguard arrived, Kilamon was struggling to get up, and Chronos was kicking the poor girl while she was down. Jade tossed her razorang to catch his attention, and the thing ricocheted off of his head, now lazily turning towards them.

It was odd seeing him move. Instead of his more graceful and quick movement, he lumbered around like a drunken slog, having the most issues in just keeping himself standing. Jade charged forward, but the lumbering man retaliated much quicker than expected with a rushing shoulder, sending the bodyguard careening backwards. Kitana approached carefully, fans drawn to the ready, and the marked man once again rushed forward with a shoulder, and the sapphire could barely manage to step out of the way.

With a whirlwind of slashes, she tore up his body, a dozen wounds for every limb he had. Even then, he seemed much too unfazed by the wounds and casually grabbed her by the throat and tossed her aside. She looked up to see his wound heal remarkably fast. Kilamon had managed to recover just in time to throw his own punches, but all of them were deflected and it seemed the strikes hurt the overseer more than Chronos himself.

Jade attacked again, recovering her razorang and turning it into her pole, striking at every opportunity she could get. Kilamon kept on his barrage, and Kitana continued her wild slashing. It did mostly nothing, but all of them hoped that the onslaught of blows and cuts would wear him down. The drunken man remained fairly still, save for a few muscle spasms here and there. A sudden surge of energy knocked away Kitana again, and Chronos performed a mighty kick that put Kilamon down like no tomorrow.

Jade was about to attack when she was grabbed by the collarbone. She made a futile attempt to escape, but for a seemingly half-awake man, his grip was iron, slowly crushing her bone. Eventually, she was forced to her knees, the searing pain too much to be ignored, and then, a vicious blow to the stomach put her body in a senseless state, falling down to earth with only her consciousness responding. A final crushing stomp to her chest crushed her ribs, and several cracked from the force.

Chronos picked her up and slung her to Kilamon, who was doing his absolute best to get up again. But the ebony crashing into him put both of them down for the fight. It was now the Princess' duty to defeat him, but the odds were stacked so heavily against her that she might as well pray to the Gods for help. Once again, she slashed away, with a single one finding its intended target. Well, as far as his entire being went, of course, but she did cut him across the right eye.

He provided her with a devastating knee to the gut, causing her to collapse from the jolt of pain. It seemed the wound wasn't healing, which meant his body might actually be giving up. She tried to stand up, but the big guy put his foot down on her head, and his sheer weight began pressing down on her skull. In hindsight, trying to get her revenge on this man seemed pretty ridiculous. Her saving grace would be the signature black and white hair wrapping around Chronos body, lifting him up.

"You will not harm my daughter any more, vile spawn!" she bellowed, her voice giving away the power that lurked within.

" _So it seems this Queen still has fangs,"_ he said, his voice distorted beyond recognition, _"Let's see if you bite matches your bark."_

He unleashed a powerful shockwave, freeing himself from Sindel's hair and sending her sliding back, the water carved away. He didn't waste any time in trying to turn her into a pile of ash, because Chronos started slinging globes of fiery energy at her, each skilfully dodged by Sindel. It also seemed using actual powers was tearing the man's body apart, because glowing flakes of skin slowly detached themselves from his being, leaving holes behind that revealed glowing flesh.

The marked man finally unleashed a tidal wave of lightning, rolling towards the Queen with uncanny speed. With a deft front flip, she jumped over the rolling thunder, with Chronos staggering behind it, clearly unable to keep himself composed. With a last ditch attempt to fry her, he gathered much of his energy into a single punch, and with blinding speed, dashed towards her with his fist straight out. She redirected the punch into thin air, and her hair wrapped around his form to start slamming him into the rock.

After three or four times, his struggles ended, and with only some hushed laughter and a few hapless grasps for something, his body limped to the floor. Her daughter came to stand beside her, clutching her stomach before both of them ran over towards Jade and Kilamon. Kilamon looked a bit beaten up, but from the blood on Jade's mask, it appeared the ebony was much more than roughed up. They were all teleported back to the warp room, where several priests stood by to assist the seriously injured.

Sindel looked over at her daughter with much lost sympathy, and Kitana could only stare, distraught at her short-sighted decision. The priests began yelling, and both the female competitor and Jade were carried off, with the mammoth-masked man regaining his consciousness. He and Sindel got into a heated argument while following the priests, leaving the Princess only with herself.

" _By the Gods, what have I done?"_

* * *

can I get a uuh BONELESS update with a TWO LITRE a COKE

fuck kind of update? also TWO LITRE MACHINE BROKE, we got 1 litre tho

Ey, so another update comes around. As always, rate and review, smash that mofuckin like button, subscribe, hit that notification bell and I might give away a free PS5. Or a new chapter, it's all up in the air really. Don't be afraid to send me a PM if you have questions.

\- The Coolest Alligator in the Universe


	5. I-V: Long Night of Solace

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter V**

 **Long Night of Solace**

* * *

His feet couldn't stop tapping, his fingers kept fidgeting, his muscles tensed as he sat in the infirmary's courtyard. He'd been here for about an hour, pondering on the actions that had to be taken. From the distance, in one of the halls, he could hear someone calling his name. He looked around to see Aszara, surprisingly modest in her choice of outfit, and Tau'Gir, who he didn't even expect to show up.

"Holy hell, Kilamon," the woman said as Kilamon rose from his seat, "what happened out there? Looked like a damn beatdown."

Kilamon's eyes barely shone through his oversized skull, but it did tell enough.

"Both Ariana and Jade have been severely injured," he started, "and whatever the boy did, it worsened their wounds."

"How bad is it?" Tau'Gir asked.

"Jade might be in a coma, and Ariana's right arm seems to have been paralysed," he said, and the other overseers eyed each other, "but I'll live."

"And the Princess?" Aszara asked.

"She's doing fine," Kilamon scoffed, "a few small bruises and a minor concussion is all she suffered."

"You don't sound elated," the male overseer noticed his colleague's tone, "did something go awry?"

"I've been disallowed from entering the rooms they're kept in," he started, "in order for both victims to heal properly. Of course, I suspect another reason."

"Perhaps the Princess fears your retaliation," Tau'Gir theorised, "after all, your word carries enough weight to change the tide."

"I don't think that's going to be be enough this time around," Aszara said, turning to her male companion, "royalty wounded, tournament sabotaged and cancelled. Let's be real, there's a lot more consequences than just Chronos getting screwed out of his victory."

She looked back at Kilamon.

"Look, do you know what the fuck happened with him?" she asked, "He tore up supporting pillars and seriously battered you lot, and I would jest if I didn't say I'm worried."

"They're interrogating him now," he said, "They're trying to probe his memory."

"Why probe his memory?" she asked.

"I was around for a short while during the interrogation, and he says he has no recollection of what he did," Kilamon explained, "but they didn't tell him what happened."

"They still didn't," a voice called from behind Aszara and Tau'Gir, rumbling through their ribcage. They looked back to see him dressed up in a fairly modest purple cloak, "I'd hoped you people could tell me."

"You're looking pretty good for someone who got flung around by the Queen," Aszara said, "except your right eye. Looks awful," she put two and two together fairly fast, "Shit, are you..? "

Chronos nodded at her question.

"Apologies for your eye," Tau'Gir said, "could the other priests not restore it?"

"They mentioned that the wound had already turned into scar tissue, nothing they could do about it," the burly man started, "and that the rest of the wounds I suffered were easy to heal. I suspected they were just telling me that out of spite, but if they healed the rest of me up just fine, I'd see no reason to keep me blind."

"You're lucky," the mammoth said, "because others didn't come off with a minor injury."

"Look, can you tell me what I did, who I disembowelled?" Chronos asked, "Because everyone I came across either said that they couldn't or didn't want to help me."

"Are you certain you don't remember anything?" Tau'Gir asked.

"I'm pretty sure," the tattooed man replied, "they found a big gap in my memory when the telepaths showed up. They also found someone else looming inside, but the energy was dormant."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Kilamon said, with Chronos' eyes pointing downward, "I don't know whether you can stay at the Academy. What you did in the arena was damning evidence for some of the Royal family to banish you from the capitol."

"Well, at least we have the telepaths and priests and whatnot to provide evidence, right?" the marked man said, "Or am I going to get screwed over no matter what?"

"That might be the case," Aszara chimed in, "both the Princess and King have been sceptical about your presence in the Academy, and I'm very sure they'll use this event as justification to boot you out there without a second thought."

"I hope not," Chronos said, "because if that happens, I'd have to resort to less savoury means to live."

"Might actually have more unnecessary consequences if they do banish you," Kilamon added, " _if_ they banish you."

"Yeah," Chronos said, mildly grazing the mark under his cloak and his face fell uncharacteristically grim, before returning back to his standard pained grimace, "Can I at least see what I did? Or is that off the table as well?"

"Currently, the Royal Family has occupied the room the Emerald Guardian is located in," Tau'Gir stated, "I doubt even a witless harlequin would let you in."

"Can't know if you don't try, and I'm royally screwed either way," Chronos said, "Kilamon, where is Jade? And where's that other girl?"

"Jade is up two flights of stairs, right hallway, third door to your right, and Ariana's in the fourth room," Kilamon said, and the other overseers gazed at him, "I like your style. Nothing to lose, much to gain. Haven't had a good laugh in a while too."

Chronos only huffed at the remark before leaving for the room, with the overseers in tow. If they couldn't sway the royalty, they could at least protect him from getting tossed out a window. Chronos caught up to what happened to everyone involved. He didn't react to anything in particular, more concerned about the very close future than worrying about the wounds inflicted by his hand. They reached the second floor, where he expected a pair of guards to stand watch in front of the room. The hallway was empty instead, and there were no sounds to be heard nearby. The quartet came up to the door of the room where the emerald guardian laid, but now they heard voices from Ariana's room. Chronos opened the door to Jade's room in silence, but the room was occupied by two.

"You dare show your face here, mongrel?" she began, her brows furrowed sharp, "After what you've done to my friend? You disgust me, you-"

Chronos wasn't even paying attention to her shrieking, his eyes fixated on the ebony looking like she was drop-kicked into a ravine. Several wells, swollen eye, deep cuts, what looked like bandages around her entire torso. The big man brushed beside the Princess, who had gotten up to berate him perpetually, now fuming from neglect. Her next deriding tirade was cut short by a half-sober woman.

"Come on, Your Highness," Aszara started, putting her hand on the blue-clad woman's shoulder, "we've got a wee bit more serious issues to attend than this."

"My apologies, but did I allow you to speak?" Kitana said, and Kilamon eyes rolled back so far in his sockets his head gave with, "If you are allotted time to speak, you speak."

Aszara walked away while muttering something under her breath, an insult to be sure. Kitana barely caught it.

"I'm sorry, did you dare mock me?" the Princess asked, "At the least have the courtesy to tell me."

"She said you were a frigid bitch," a very weak voice whispered, and it came from Jade, "and to be honest now, she's not wrong."

"Jade!" Kitana screeched as she ran up to the empty side of the bed, "Thank the Gods, I feared much worse had befallen you."

"Could be worse still," the ebony whimpered, cringing in discomfort, "and I'm happy it isn't."

"Everyone, vacate the room!" Kitana commanded, "I wish to talk to my friend in private."

"Kitana, I'd like to ask something of you," Jade began, and Kitana nodded, "I'd like you to leave as well," she turned her head to the silent man, who was gripping her hand tightly, "and for you to stay."

The room almost exploded from the sheer tension and pressure building up.

"Excuse me?!" Kitana just barely managed to not bellow.

"Pretty please?" the woman asked, big puppy eyes now drilling into the Princess' soul. She did eventually stand up and leave, the rest of the overseers following suit. Once everyone was gone, the ebony turned to Chronos, still gripping her hand tightly, "You can let go of me now."

"Apologies," he said, and he released her hand. She expected him to say more, but he didn't look like he wanted to say more.

"You've been informed of the events, I presume?" Jade asked, and he nodded in acknowledgement, "I'm terribly sorry you have been treated this way. I wish I could do more to help you, but I fear my own opinion will be brushed aside."

"You don't have to apologise," he said, his grimace cracking, "it is my fault, my burden to bear. I'll suffer whatever consequences will follow."

"Hah, so brave," she said, "but that will not be necessary."

Chronos looked up with oddly gleeful eyes, something astoundingly rare from the big lug to show.

"You understand the position I am in now?" she began, and he nodded, "At the moment, this precarious condition leaves me inept to perform my duties at the Academy. Which means I require a replacement to exercise my duties for me."

"Jade, I'm terribly sorry, but is that the best idea?" he asked, and the ebony raised an eyebrow.

"Quick to assume you will be granted the position?" she inquired.

"The probability is high," he answered, "and after all, I remember the reason why the Queen didn't toss me in a pit the moment she laid eyes on me. And besides, none can match my expertise."

"A humble and astute observation," the emerald guardian chuckled, "but nevertheless, I suppose there is nothing left but to give you my badge."

"You had a badge?" Chronos asked, "Haven't exactly seen it plastered on your chest."

"I don't have the space," she joked, and he blushed mildly, "so I keep it tied to my waist most of the time. Right now, it's on the cupboard behind you."

The big man stood up and grabbed the badge, a shiny gold one with violet trim and a small emerald laid in the middle. He could only think it's what he should have expected.

"Take it with you, and show it to the others," she explained, "they'll understand what it means."

He nodded in silence, and Jade couldn't help herself but ask another question.

"You don't talk too much outside of my little inquiries," she said, "Most of your more outrageous actions are physical. Why?"

"Just happens," he replied, "nothing more, nothing less."

An odd glow appeared in Chronos' eyes and Jade just barely caught a glimpse of it. However, at the moment, she had grown to weary to ask any further, so she let him off the hook, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before dozing off into dreamland. The tattooed man only stared at the badge for a short while, eventually getting up and leaving the room. He closed the door behind him carefully, only to see almost all the overseers and member of the royal family waiting outside.

"I surmise you entered my adoptive daughter's room with a reason?" Jerrod asked, although his tone implied it was a rhetorical question.

"More or less making sure she's not dead," Chronos answered. He could see Kitana almost blowing up in the corner of his eye, "But I did get this."

He lifted up the badge, and while the royal family stared at it in confusion at it, the overseers behind them smiled. At least, the ones he could see, for Kilamon's posture did not change a bit.

"What is that?" the sapphire princess asked, and Kilamon took the opportunity to answer for Chronos.

"It is the badge that all overseers carry to indicate their position," he explained, "This particular one belonged to Jade. It appears that, in her absence, someone else must do her duties for her. And I can safely gather that the man in front of you has been elected to do so."

Not one second after he had said that, Kitana stormed to Jade's room, and the moment the door was shut, a very loud and angry princess began voicing her opinion to the ebony, who was at that point so fast asleep even the dragon's rant could not ruse her from slumber. Chronos turned back to the King and Queen, who stood silent, although for different reasons.

"My dear, what do you say?" Sindel spoke up at last, "Are we to ignore the judgement of Kitana's best friend?"

Jerrod could do nothing but sigh, slowly approaching the much bigger man, his hands clasped behind his back. The King had never stepped so close to him, and the sheer bulk of man did unease him a tad.

"It appears that you have been absolved of your transgressions by my third most treasured person in the entirety of the realms," Jerrod remarked, "You would do well to remember that in the future."

"Will do, _your Highness,_ " Chronos replied, the emphasis almost putting Jerrod on edge. Sindel disapprovingly shook her head, but the minor grin did indicate she thought nothing more of it that a joke in poor taste.

"Let us depart, Jerrod," she said, "we have business to attend to."

With a very small pause, Jerrod turned around and left alongside his wife, leaving the overseers to themselves.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing left to do but return to the Academy, _colleagues_ ," Tau'Gir said, "Come, I'll show you the ropes. Wouldn't want to leave you in the dark now on the first day of the job."

"I'll make you a drink or two," Aszara offered, "Can't give students a drink, but now, I can get you hammered so you can have _fun_."

"I thank you for your offer, Tau'Gir," he said, and he turned to Azsara, "and as for your offer, it's going to take a lot to get me down and out."

"I bet fifty gold koins on it I beat you clean," she challenged.

"Deal," he accepted, "When do I take you up on it?"

"Tonight," she said, "And don't worry, drinks are on me for the challenge. Going to get myself a boatload of cheap ale to make sure we have plenty."

He gave a sly nod and smile before both Aszara and Tau'Gir left, leaving only the mammoth and dragon in the corridor, aside a couple of nurses. The took a slower pace, only a few seconds after the others had left.

"Surprising to see you hold the badge," he started, "I'd expected little more than her word, to be honest."

"She assumed the same," Chronos replied, "and that's probably why she handed it over to me."

"Smart option," he said, "I hope her faith isn't misplaced."

"I hope I can trust you lot to help me with all this," Chronos said, "this isn't exactly my cup of tea."

"Don't worry too much about it," Kilamon replied, "We'll make sure you don't look like an idiot on your first day."

Both shared a quick chuckle before heading outside. On the stairs to the infirmary, Kilamon looked back and poked Chronos in the side with his elbow. He turned around to see a woman storming at them, red and blue for various reasons.

"You're on your own for this," Kilamon said, "I wish you luck."

They gave each other a quick nod before the mammoth took a hike, just in time to avoid the red hot princess stomping towards the dragon.

"I do not understand why she would even allow you to take the reigns over the prestigious Academy," she began, "but I suppose the quality of your peers has decreased enough to make you excel, apparently."

"I admire your backhanded compliment, but I would've thought you value your friend's opinion more than anything else?" he asked.

"Clearly, as of your arrival, she considers my input less valuable than ever before," she explained, "so I can attach as much value to her advice as she does to mine."

"Maybe that has a reason," he said, and Kitana vigorous fury was set ablaze again.

"Excuse me, but my advice holds as much weight as hers," she became awfully defensive, "as royalty, I have been educated by Edenia's finest and most respected scholars, while, excuse my crass remarks, my friend has not had such exceptional education."

"It didn't stick regardless," he sneered, and Kitana's eyes managed to stay in their sockets somehow, "You know, I don't get your issue with me. So I beat you up while you were buzzed, big whoop. I don't like being in this position, and I don't like having the axeman's blade hanging over my head all the time," he pointed at the mark underneath his cloak, "so why don't you get over it so you and I can live our happy lives without bothering each other."

"My problem with you is your lack of respect and decency towards your superiors," she began, and he barely managed to contain his chuckle, "and consistently, you have avoided punishment and have been exalted above our laws to keep you within the Academy's walls," she took a deep breath before continuing, "that despite your despicable actions and heinous crimes, you walk freely among innocents. I will not stand for it."

"So what exactly are you going to do?" he asked, more taunting than anything, "Every time you enact one of your genius schemes, it leads to collateral damage and to unnecessary complications in the future."

"One, my genius schemes have been few and far between," she said, conveniently omitting the results of said schemes, "and second, said damage and complications are yours to blame."

"As. I. Said," he started, his face now a hair's breadth away from hers, " _What'cha gonna do?_ "

"Let's settle our little dispute then the same way you started it," she offered, "a bout between you and me, no restraints, no crutches, nothing of the sort. Just you and me. What do you say?"

"And what's on the line?" he asked.

"If you win, I'll leave you to lead your own live as you please," she said.

"And if I lose?" he inquired.

"You will become my servant for as long as both of us live," she stated, and she saw a twinge of doubt for half a second.

"Skewed risk-result, but I like my odds," he said, his hidden insult deeply piercing through the Edenian's soul, "I'll take you up on the challenge."

"Excellent," Kitana said, "My palace training ground, two weeks from now, at dusk. Don't make me wait."

"Trust me, I won't," Chronos assured her. She decided to leave in a rush, with him just standing on the stairs, aimless at this point. For now, he'd take up Aszara on her challenge a bit earlier than expected.

* * *

Ariana could barely scale the stairs to the palace with her busted ankle, the pain too much to bear, the fear of falling backwards too high to consider it. She appeared to be in luck however as Kilamon agreed to help her up the stairs. It'd bee two weeks since the incident, and sometime unknown, the pincess and the massive bear of a man had agreed to a duel. With rumours circulating around, everyone at the Academy had placed their bet on Chronos.

Ariana was invited to watch the event unfold, to her own surprise too. She'd barely recovered when the news came through, and even the other overseers hadn't seen it coming. The dragon hadn't even bothered checking who was coming to watch or not; he was too busy practising his strikes to care.

After an agonising several minutes, they arrived at the bridge spanning the ravine between the stairs and the palace, with both Tau'Gir and Azsara on the bridge. Tau'Gir stood as straight as ever, while the female overseer could barely stand, leaning on the edge of the bridge for support. As they approached them, Tau'Gir reciprocated the action.

"It looks like I'm not alone in helping disabled women up the stairs," he joked, with Aszara mouthing him off in a very husky voice, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Not good, but better," she said, "I still have a pounding headache."

"Caine is to handle that issue," he assured her, with her eyes squinting just a bit, "Oh, you haven't met him, I suppose? My best description of him is spooky, but exceptionally good at his job."

"Thanks for the heads up," she said, now staring at the woman in the back, "what's up with her?"

"We can ask," Kilamon suggested before the other overseer could answer. A small walk later, they found themselves next to Azsara, who looked like she was about to throw up, "Had a good night's sleep, dear?"

"Fuck you, Kilamon," she swore, "I fucking hate being alive right now."

"A bit prickly?" Ariana asked, and the female overseer shot her a look that would make her step back if she could, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it-"

"Just, don't talk so loud," she interrupted her, and the mammoth laughed.

"Looked too deep into the glass with the new guy again?" he asked, "This is the third time, if I recall correctly."

"I just…" she began, her fists balling together, "I just want to win once for the Gods' sake. The guy can hold his liquor, I'll give him that."

"How much did you have to drink even?" he asked.

"I drank a bunch of ale, he downed so many shots of our most alcohol-filled wine that it would have downed me three times over. For fuck's sake, I hate that guy."

"Yesterday?" Kilamon inquired, "And he's able to fight?"

"Yeah, I saw him walking up the stairs I front of me," she explained, "Suffice to say, he beat me to the top."

"Looks like we can have a little chat with him," Kilamon said, and with Ariana's arm slung around his shoulder, he was about to leave before Azsara stopped them to tell them something, "Look, you do know Kitana is going to get her fine ass planted into the ground, right? Like, she won't be able to walk for several days."

"How come?" Ariana asked, "He's that strong?"

"You see girl, I've had people follow him off the grounds to see what he was up to," she said, which Kilamon questioned just mildly, "and he's been doubling down on his powers. Looks like he's going to turn our lovely heir of the throne into a heap of mush by the time he's done with her. Eh, like, not in the fun, giddy way, but in the absolutely terrifying way."

"Why exactly did you want him to get drunk?" Kilamon asked, "You don't talk like this when he's around. In fact, you don't talk like this at all."

"I just want to bang him, alright?" she admitted bluntly, "I haven't had goddamn sex in several months, because I'm stuck teaching a bunch of morons! A bunch of apes with the ability to stand up is the best I can say for them!"

She took a calming swig of air before continuing.

"Look, if he was too wasted to rationally think, I might be able to talk him out of his pants," she explained, "Unfortunately, all the alcohol he ingests disappears into the void for some reason, which makes it really hard for me to actually succeed."

"Why would you want to, uh, bang him?" Ariana asked, a bit hesitant on the subject.

"So, the general showers for the pupils are unisex," she began, "and some of the gals there talk about his, uh, _weapon_ not fitting their… _sheath."_

"Tasteful," Kilamon said, "something you didn't have to elaborate on so thoroughly."

"Look, she asked about it," Azsara said, pointing at the girl hanging onto Kilamon's shoulder, "you should blame her for it."

"I'll consider that later. Azsara," Kilamon said before leaving the hungover woman to wait out her ill state. With Ariana still around his shoulder, he arrived at the training courtyard, which was bustling with nobles as well as prominent fighters from other cities. Even the King and Queen attended this fight, although their faces seemed to indicate they were exceptionally unhappy to have to watch this bout unfold.

Chronos was practising in the courtyard, his body enveloped in a white glow, its aura warping the air around him, his blind eye now a ghoulish red. It was clear he intended to win by a landslide to settle the dispute once and for all. Kitana was nowhere to be seen, possibly preparing as much as possible. Kilamon approached one of the nobles, who was enjoying a warm cup of swell tea by the looks of it.

"Excuse me, sir?" he asked, and the noble turned around. His visage seemed to imply he knew Kilamon at least somewhat, "Ah, the overseer from the city's Academy. Can I assist you?"

"I want to know what the mood is around here," the mammoth asked, "Most of all, who is speculated to win this skirmish."

The tea drinker looked hesitant to speak up, but did eventually say what was on his mind.

"My boy, I have utmost faith in the combat prowess of the heir," he began, "but rumours had spread around the continent of a beastly warrior with the fury of a thousand stars residing in your city."

"An over-exaggeration, I feel," Kilamon replied, "but one I'm not going to dispute. I surmise then you fancy the man's odds?"

"Just for your information, bets have been placed," the noble continued, "and the odds are 1 to 52 in favour of the boy."

"I'd expected something akin to that," he said, "I suppose I've got nothing left to say but to thank you."

The noble nodded and resumed drinking his tea, which had grown lukewarm at that point. Kilamon shuffled to the front of the crowd, while Ariana began asking some questions.

"What're your thoughts, Kilamon?" she asked, and his head turned slightly at her question, "Who'd you place your bets on?"

Kilamon didn't answer the question in the slightest, and Ariana decided it'd be best to not prod any further. Now with front seats, they could inspect the courtyard more proficiently, and not all too unexpected, the floor had several mosaics embedded in it. The pillars on the edge of the courtyard were well-crafted, with engravings adorning them. Even the fairly small stairs were designed thoughtfully, the marble pristine and nearly reflective.

It was a stark contrast to the rugged, muscled man practising inside of the courtyard to be sure.

After an uneventful few minutes passing by, the fight was to commence at last. A man, short in stature, dressed in a fine suit made a path trough the spectators, and he straightened his collar before speaking up.

"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, our beloved and respected heir to King Jerrod's throne, princess Kitana!"

Naturally, an applause was given as she appeared at the courtyard.

"Dear spectators, friends, family, I am honoured to have you witness my glory in person. It truly warms my heart," she began, "Naturally, I suppose you would be interested to know why you have been summoned here."

Chronos rolled his eyes. At least, he rolled an eye; the other one was too red to discern eye movement.

"This man that stands before you has not been held responsible for his reprehensible actions, for too long he has walked unscathed, while others suffer the consequences of his actions. Today, I stand to correct that error and exert justice."

The dragon did nothing but stare absent-mindedly.

"Have you nothing to say, coward?" Kitana taunted, perhaps emboldened by the presence of people equal to her status. Mistaken, Kilamon knew, but understandable.

"Are you done?" he asked, and the sapphire heir assumed her stance as a response. He took his stance as well, stark white bolts dancing over his body, his aura intensifying. Neither made the first move for several seconds, with the princess finally breaking the tension, tossing one of her fans to her opponent. It clashed with his fireball, the fan bouncing away, and the dragon dashed through the fire into her face. Quick wit allowed her to duck his fist and land a blow of her own, but it seemed to barely dent him.

A vicious knee to her chin sent her stumbling backward, stabilising herself quickly before Chronos landed another hit. She attempted to sweep his feet from underneath him, but he managed to catch it and crush her ankle under his heel. A swift elbow to her face made her stumble over again, once more having to regain her footing. The marked one's offence was unrelenting however, as he dashed back into her face with a volley of fists aimed at her torso.

She blocked them with difficulty, her forearms struggling to defend against the brutal force. She was grappled by the straps of her top after her arms fell, and before she could act, the dragon performed a headbutt that sent her slamming into one of the pillars, and several _ows_ could be heard from the crowd. She gasped for air, but she didn't even have time to suffer from pain for the man didn't let up his ruthless whirlwind of strikes. She managed to slip underneath his endless torrent of knuckles, and she sneaked in a tap to his kidney to try and slow down his onslaught.

It didn't bother him in the slightest, and he just redirected his fists back to her position, while she was desperately trying to create space and catch a breath. The princess did catch a lucky break with a chop to his throat, a chop that did stop the big man in his tracks for a second or two. She created a tremendous amount of space in that time, but the woman was followed by a powerful shockwave from his position, which she had to awkwardly sidestep because of its size. Through the fires of the shockwave, she'd lost sight of him, but from behind, the princess heard him speak, and she couldn't react in time to stop what he was about to do.

" _You loser."_

What followed was a barrage of shin-crushing, torso-breaking, head-spinning kicks and punches, each wearing her down bit by bit, until she crumpled from exhaustion. Chronos seemed to prepare ffinishing the job with a double open palm strike, but the princess wasn't able to recover from her crumpled position. Rays of solar energy gathered at his hands, creating a globe of intense energy. Several of the spectators already moved out of the projected trajectory. Once the actual marble started to disconnect from the floor, Chronos unleashed his devastating move, planting his feet into the ground so hard it cracked.

" _ **Deadly Rave!"**_

It struck Kitana full force, sending her flying towards the wall. She collided with so much force the wall cracked, her body embedded into the cold stone. Even her flight path had carved out the marble underneath it, the air reshaping the floor. The princess eventually dislodged from the wall, falling face first to the floor. She was out cold, no doubt. Some rushed over, including the Queen, but many could only stand and stare at the ordeal.

Chronos moved away, and anyone who was in his path stepped aside. Kilamon and his companion stared at the destruction, missing chunks and debris littering the courtyard. After several minutes of worried voices and hurried tapping, Ariana could only manage to mutter a few words.

"Fucking hell."

* * *

" _In recent news, a new sea lion has been born at the Central Park Zoo! Currently, the little guy has no name, but even then, many have come to visit the little pupper to look at him."_

Aaron was staring into is empty glass, the burning sensation of scotch fresh in his memory. A knock at the door roused him from trance, and he stood up and stumbled to the door. He'd ordered some pizza a half hour ago, a rather large one at that. He peered through the peep hole to see, indeed, the delivery guy, which made him wonder how he got in without ringing the doorbell first. He opened the door to see someone else next to the delivery guy.

"Hey, Alex," he greeted, with her awkwardly smiling and waving at him, "get inside, I have to pay the guy."

She shuffled past him while he grasped in his pockets. She could see the rather messy apartment he lived in. It wasn't too gross, but it definitely showed he wasn't bothering to clean up as much as he used to. She took a seat on the couch, looking at the cute sea lion on the television. After a minute, Adam showed up with a big pizza. He wasn't wearing much, a plain black shirt and some baggy pants, and his hair was ragged and messy.

"What's up?" he asked, offering her a slice of pizza. She politely refused, "Didn't expect you to show up this late."

Alex could barely breathe at this point, but did manage to face him, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Alex?" he asked, worry slowly settling in, but before she could speak, the news caster did it for her.

" _In other news, the current search for the young man who disappeared several months ago has been cancelled. After exhausting all options, the NYPD are regretful to inform the loss of a promising young man. We have been requested to keep any names anonymous as to minimise public attention."_

Aaron could barely process those words. They'd cancelled the search for his brother. _They'd fucking stopped._

"Aaron, I…," Alex started, but he was too busy panicking.

"No, no, I must've misheard," Adam began denying this nightmarish reality.

"Aaron…," Alex tried again.

"I refuse to believe he's gone. No, no, I-" Aaron began breathing heavier, faster.

"Aaron, please, listen to me," she begged him, but his response was sharper than expected.

"No," he fell down on the couch, "I, I refuse…"

He buried his face in his hands, taking a deep breath before facing Alex again, whose mascara had ran out over her cheeks.

"Did, did you…," he began, but he couldn't find the words to remotely express any sense of feeling.

"For three days," she said, and his face turned from saddened to furious, "I, I didn't know how'd you respond. I wasn't feeling too well either."

"What were you exactly doing that whole time, huh?!" he shouted, rising from the couch, a fury burning in his eyes, "Just doing your job, living your daily life? You couldn't even be assed to tell me?"

"I was shitfaced for three days straight, shut the fuck up!" she screamed at him, and Aaron was taken aback by her response, "You think I didn't give two shits about him or something? About how? You dense son of a fucking bitch!" she yelled, shoving him into the closet behind him.

"Don't take that tone with me," he threatened her, walking up into her face, but she didn't budge.

"Screw you, Aaron," she said teary-eyed, and he could barely contain his anger, but it regressed back into sorrow again. He slumped back into the couch.

"I'm sorry, but…," she could barely get the words over her quivering lips, "He's gone. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," he said, almost breathed, "It's not your fault."

He couldn't believe it. It was a nightmare.

" _It's not your fault."_

* * *

YOU EAT ALL MY BEANS NIBBA

Back from my eternal sleep, bringing you a 5/7 chapter with fun, happy times all around. I'll probably start looking for inonsistencies all around the story at this point to make sure it's not jarring and whatnot. Don't forget to give me a good Yelp review or I'll find you.

\- The Frostiest Man to have ever lived


	6. I-VI: Of Buzzed and Brooding Spirits

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter VI**

 **Of Buzzed and Brooding Spirits**

* * *

Fireworks echoed in the distance, the starry skies obscured by the smoke from the fancy gunpowder. From the first step of the stair, his eyes were transfixed upon the beautiful dance of every colour in the rainbow and everything in between. He had been standing there for a total of two minutes, waiting for Kilamon to show up. He hadn't expected him to be late, but maybe it took forever to take off that mask. If only the ebony woman would be here, he´d feel a lot less out of his element.

He'd gotten a suspiciously fancy set of clothes a few days ago, with an invitation from the Queen herself. He found it odd, as if he'd remotely fit in with the high and mighty nobles and scheming aristocrats. Now, maybe his old history lessons gave him the wrong impression, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that a lust for power wasn't a human thing. More appropriately, it was a mortal one. He hoped he'd never get caught up in those webs of deceit.

He'd spent another five minutes pondering about other things before Kilamon showed up. He'd expected a fine coat or suit, not him in his natural outfit.

"Looking sharp, mammoth," Chronos said, to which Kilamon chuckled, "An unfortunate development of events has forced my hand," was his reply, "I'd like to be you," the dragon quipped, "I doubt it," Kilamon responded, and Chronos raised an eyebrow at his demeanour. It was awfully abrasive and blunt, "The Mistmarch has arrived much sooner than predicted, and several outposts call for aid. I answer the call."

"Should've let someone else deliver the message," the burly man suggested, but the other shrugged it off, "My transportation arrives in an hour, I'm quick enough to tell you myself," he said, "But that's not all you had to say I feel?" Chronos asked.

"Perceptive," Kilamon replied and he fished something from a pocket. It looked like an invitation, "You've gotten one as well, but your privileges have been restricted. Not royalty, not a knight, the usual," he straightened his oversized skull, "This invitation contains a little token. It gives you almost, if not all privileges I would have had."

"Like what?" Chronos inquired, "As much as your liver can handle is one of them," Kilamon didn't even finish his long list of things he could do before the dragon shushed him, "That's all I need, really. I'm not going to live through this night without a steady supply of booze," Kilamon continued listing off perks of his own invite, "Heh, unlimited supper too," Chronos lips started to salivate itself at the mention, which the mammoth noticed, "I guess you're starving."

"Haven't had a real decent bite in months," he said, "Is the Academy's food not sufficient?" Kilamon asked, and Chronos gave a quick smile, "It's enough, but I haven't had, say, delicious lobster since I came here."

"A basic need for all," Kilamon joked, "but that's really all the time for pleasantries I have to spare. The chauffeur wouldn't be pleased with latecomers."

"I'll let you save the world then," Chronos said, and the mammoth shook his head, "Don't talk me up, it inflates my ego too much," he said before leaving, but just within earshot, he heard the big man yell, "Bring me a holiday present!" to which Kilamon merely rolled his eyes, his head rolling along with.

Chronos turned around and began scaling the stairs, at eternal trip that began tearing into his hamstrings like nothing before. He never desired to climb stairs, he'd much rather take an elevator, but he supposed he hadn't much choice. After an agonising few minutes, he arrived at the top, exhausted and mildly sweating from the exertion. He looked at the entrance, and unlike many times, the iron gates into the palace were inviting and booming with people. It was a rather wonderful sight, yet not as wondrous as the woman leaning on the railing of the bridge.

With a lazy stroll, he approached the woman, which he recognised as the girl from the Arena. He'd not expected her here so soon, with Jade still recovering in the hospital. The girl didn't notice him yet, at least, until she spoke up once she saw him.

"I remember you," the blonde mentioned, feigned grudge lacing her voices, "I couldn't forget the girl I saw for two minutes that one time," he replied, earning a small smile from the girl, her green-greyish eyes skimming over his being, "You look good."

"So do you," he returned her gesture. It was true, his fancy blue robe with golden trim, reaching towards just above his ankles, with a double breasted white striped jacket underneath, gave him an almost irrstistable allure if it wasn't for his botched face. He'd expected to be cooked alive, but in the deep of night, the cool breeze cooled him off tremendously, to say nothing of the fine materials the clothes were made of. To his delight, the matching pants weren't constrictive, giving him a lot less of a hard time, "Thanks," was Ariana's response, and her own outfit wasn't too shabby either; a mat red dress reaching to below her knees, split at the sides to show her lean legs. The high heels matched in colour, and her cleavage plunged so deep he could take a swim in it, the small straps just barely holding up her bosom, "You're looking more than one place right?"

"I'm not too superficial," he said, with her eyelids sinking just enough to betray suspicion, "Really?" she asked, "That said, my self-restraint is being put to the test with the way you look."

"I like being the centre of attention," she stated, and his curious face drew her eyes towards him, "Like being the object of someone's affection?" he inquired, "You would be surprised what I like to do," her sultry voice was intriguing, but odd. After all, the dragon had smashed the blonde into the rocks several week prior, and to imply salacious things wasn't a befitting consequence of such events. Regardless, he didn't think too much of it afterwards.

They made their way to the palace entrance, where a few guards stood warden for the party inside. He recognised one of them, his helmet was wobbly by default, the other was harder to place, but his visage did finally ring a bell somewhere.

"Greetings, lady and gentlemen," he greeted, bowing as well, "May I see your invitations please?" he asked, and while Chronos fished his invite out with a swipe of his hand, Ariana was having a much more difficult time, "Oh no," she murmured.

"Hm?" the dragon was concise with his response, "Something wrong?" and she began feeling all over her body, "My invite's gone! Ah, it must've dropped somewhere along the way," she put her hands on the back of her head. With some quick thinking, he pulled out his original invite.

"Sorry, sir, a bit scattered the lady is," he began, with a frown from the blonde behind him, "She forgot she gave it to me," the guard eyed the invitation with careful eyes, but he eventually nodded his head, "It appears all is in order. Enjoy your evening, sir. And miss, too."

"Thank you," the big man gave a short salute before going inside the anteroom, a fairly large one at that, "Thanks for bailing me out of a sticky situation. Good thing the invites don't have any names on them," she wiped her forehead, "I would've laughed if that was the case," Chronos said, and he was met with a quick jab in the side, "You're awful," she said, and his response was as serious as her insult, "One of a kind, mind you."

They shared a laugh before marching to the throne room, which had been transformed into a dining hall, replete with tables stocked with delectable food, from very alluring steaks to even more delicious pies. Many tables were occupied, and he spotted his fellow overseers sitting at a table somewhere close to the throne itself. Naturally, a large table stood in front of the throne, the King perched atop it, with his Queen and his daughter beside him. A few others occupied the table as well, with a very dark-skinned woman and purple-clad prince asking for his attention.

"I recognise the two over there," Ariana said, pointing towards the two overseers, of which one was downing an entire pint of ale, "Might join them," she looked at Chronos, who was too attracted to chicken on the table to listen all too carefully. He did hear her however, "I'll join soon, just got to see what I can take from the table."

She left the dragon to himself, who was almost jogging towards the food. He took a plate and grabbed at least several chicken wings before moving on to anything remotely healthy, scooping several spoons of a salad to compensate for the several chunks of bacon he placed onto his plate. Some of them were eyeing him rather condescendingly, but he was much too busy to even notice. Someone, however, approached him while he was grabbing some sausages.

"Excuse me for disturbing your, eh, collection of food," a woman began, a pale complexion hiding her very few wrinkles, "but are you not Chronos?" he was restraining himself from shoving some steak into his face, "Yeees?" was all he really could muster to say.

"I believe we haven't made our acquaintance yet," she said, extending a hand towards him, "Henriette Ad-San, former minister of Foreign Affairs, it's a pleasure to meet you," he grimaced at the mention, but shaking the woman's hand, "Oh, don't worry, this isn't a third degree interrogation. It's an informal talk."

"Why'd you want to talk to me?" he asked, simultaneously picking up some potatoes, "Word has been circulating around that the great and admired heir to Jerrod´s throne has been given a proper trashing by what was rumoured to be a peasant," she sized him up, "I would have not expected to bask in the presence of such an astonishingly large man."

"People always think I'm smaller until they've met me," he said, and she chuckled at the mention, "You aren't the largest person I've met in my life, but you do rank high up on my list," she adjusted her fur boa, "I'd like to take a seat, you have somewhere we can chat?"

"You'd mind if we sit at that table?" he pointed at the overseers and Ariana, who seemed to be having an intense discussion, "Not at all," Henriette said as they made their way to the table, where within earshot, Aszara was clearly outspoken in her opinion, "You shut it girl, apple and caramel pie is connoisseur's choice when choosing a pie, or a cake, it makes no difference!" Ariana strongly disagreed it seems, "No, strawberry and raspberry pie topped off with cream and chocolate is much better!"

"Ma'am?' Chronos said, pulling up one of the free seats of the table, "Ma'am? So old already?" she joked, "I'm just formal, is all," was the dragon's response. She took her seat, while Chronos picked the one next in between her and Ariana. Their discussion had come to a halt with the entrance of the stranger, "Who's that?" Aszara asked, a bit too blunt.

"Henriette Ad-San, former minister of Foreign Affairs, now a passionate poet and purveyor of fine art," Tau'Gir said, "Pleasure to see you again, Henriette," she accepted his hand, "Likewise, Tau'Gir," she reciprocated the gesture.

"Hey, hold up, how'd you know her?" Aszara asked, and Tau'gir straightened his collar, "I was an administrative assistant for miss Henriette for a couple of years before being transferred here. The Academy was in need of someone organised," he explained, "I thought you only became a pencil pusher after joining the Academy?" Aszara took another swig of her ale, "I appreciate your opinion, Aszara, but you're wrong in that regard."

"Well, you talk like, never, so it isn't a surprise I'm misinformed," her pint of ale swung around so much some was spilled across Chronos plate half-full of food, which didn't stop him from eating, "That sounds like you, Tau'Gir," Henriette noted, before turning her attention to the eating man, "I must wonder, how did you adjust so well? This world differs greatly from your own," she waited in anticipation for an answer from Chronos, who was finishing his food. His plate was nearly empty, she noticed.

"Well, it wouldn't have ended so well without a collection of fortunate coincidences, or unfortunate," he stole Aszara's pint and took a sip, "Depends on who you ask, really," Henriette leaned in closer, "Who then?" the dragon straightened his posture, "Well, I think Kilamon won't fret about harbouring me in the Academy, and I feel my companions over here don't thoroughly dislike me," to which Tau'Gir nodded, while Aszara stuck up her thumb, "But at least half of the Royal Family has a grudge against me, I feel. One's not surprising, though."

"Yes, I've heard about your first encounter with the tempered Princess," she said, signing a waiter with a platter full of drinks to come by, "It wasn't pretty," Chronos huffed, "That's an understatement," he took one of the drinks from the platter, "But it's the source of the reason why I'm not six feet below," a puzzled look adorned almost all at the table, "That means I'm not in a coffin," an audible _ah_ came from Ariana, who had grabbed her own glass as well.

"Say, about her, the blueberry woman, she's staring at out table a lot," Ariana mentioned, and nearly all of them simultaneously looked over at the royal table to see the Princess stare with fury at them, and it looked like the purple-clad prince was vying for her attention, "Guess the whole trashing hasn't reduced her anger for you," Chronos shrugged his shoulders, "Not my problem any more," he said. Henriette was contemplating the situation, which brought her at what was for her a fairly reasonable assumption.

"Maybe there's something bigger troubling her," she suggested, much to the surprise of the now hammered woman, "Pffff, her? Come on, she's a daddy's girl, born with a silver spoon in her mouth," she tried to take another swig, but Tau'Gir disarmed her, which earned him a stern look, "Look, she's isn't exactly scraping by, what's could possibly be troubling her so deep to occupy herself with him?" she pointed at Chronos, who was about to go for a second round of food, "I mean, I did beat her pretty badly," he thought about it for a second, "You know, Henriette may have a point," and the woman in question nodded.

"You could always ask," she said, "and right now is your chance, I'd say," her eyes looked behind him, and Chronos turned around to see the Princess leaving somewhere. He was awfully torn between talking to her and getting something to eat. It's a good thing Ariana was next to her, "Look, if it's anything, she's got no one to talk to besides her parents, after you put Jade in the infirmary," the dragon looked at her, "The least you could do is compromise," he shook his head, "That's never really been my style," and Aszara interjected, "I mean, you're standing here. Without some compromise, you'd have been dragged to the gallows."

He pondered the thought, "You people are moral white knights," both Ariana and Aszara smiled, while Henriette nodded. Tau'Gir kept mostly silent and passive throughout, "But I am taking a drink before I go," the poet gave a giggle before replying, "Suit yourself."

He quickly jogged over to the table chock full of drinks, grabbed a glass, poured it to the brim, drank it in a single go and poured another one before leaving. He scoured some of the corridors and rooms. In particular, he went to the kitchen to ask about Kitana, assuming the possibility of being poisoned by her. When that trail went dead, he scoured some more, asked around, but apparently the blue-clad Edenian had turned into a ghost, haunting the grounds. By then, he'd emptied his glass, and it was convenient it happened near the kitchen.

He arrived at the garden, where it became clear the weather had turned sour in the short while he was in the palace. He couldn't hear any fireworks, the splats of water on the marble drowning out the faint chatter from the throne room. The garden was fantastic in every sense, with outlandish flora that he wouldn't have imagined. He was inclined to strut through the garden, lit up with torches cleverly placed underneath overhangs to keep the garden visible.

He finally stepped out in the open, staying out of the rain, taking a breath of chilling, fresh air to counteract his weary mind. His pace was slow, admiring the tall flowers and neatly trimmed hedges, busts representing all members of the Royal Family. His strut sent him down a couple of steps, slowly descending to what looked like an enormous empty field, save for a few trees scattered about. The torrential downpour had turned into a meagre drizzle, and the light from behind gave the whole sight something eerily calm and peaceful. In this silent admiration, he could hear someone swallow behind him.

A swift turn of his head revealed the sapphire heir to sit on one of the benches, a bottle of liquor in one hand, completely drenched because of the weather. Dressed in what looked like a plain dress, reaching to her ankles, modest for what he'd seen from such notorious people, a shiny blue, naturally, and her hair flowed to the middle of her back, her tiara propped up neatly on her head. He approached slowly, and the Princess' eyes shot up and an instant grimace befell her face.

"I suppose you came to relish in my misery," she said, and he was too prideful to swallow his ego, "You brought it upon yourself," her eyes turned more furious, "Huh, I am to blame solely for your transgressions? For your hand in accidents?" he gave a minor chuckle, "You know, it's unhealthy to hold grudges," and the Princess stood up, almost launching herself from the bench.

"I _know_ that all your words are cleverly constructed insults to provoke my ire," she stood close to him, attempting to stand taller with audacity alone, "I dare say you're a coward for hiding your real intentions," his nostrils flared, not out of anger, more out of humour, "Then you know me poorly," she huffed at his remark, striding to the end of the garden, leaning on the balustrade, watching over the empty field.

"As if you know me so well," she stated, taking a swig from her bottle. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, "I would bet my own personal wealth on your inability to guess my favourite colour," there was a relatively long silence, which had given her hope that he might leave, that he might just give up, at long last winning an altercation with the man, albeit small. Yet his response came quicker than expected, " _Green_."

A long two seconds passed, a silent, tension-inflating two seconds that seemed to conjure new clouds, a massive downpour washing over them, before the sapphire woman tossed the bottle to his head with superb accuracy, and Chronos caught it expertly, taking his own sip from the bottle as the woman stomped up to him, her fists pounding on his chest, tears flying off of her cheeks, " _I hate you!_ " her shouting was filled with hatred and pent-up frustrations, " _I hate you!_ " her voice grew softer, "I hate you…" her voice became a whimper, her face buried in his chest, arms slung around his shoulders for support. He did not react, instead letting the Princess cry her heart out, "I hate…you…"

She had spent all of her energy within those ten seconds, and her laboured breathing warmed his wet form, "Are you done?" she nodded, "Come then, sit," he guided her to a bench out of the rain. He plopped down on it, while she slowly took a seat. He took a sip from the bottle. It tasted like orange, "Why are you so angry with me?" no big words, no complicated questions, "I… I don't know," she said, and he let the liquor in his bottle roll around.

"You know, back home, my mum and dad were gone for months at end some times," he took a swig, "and my brother Aaron wasn't around much either. If I was around him, it was because he was wasted at a bar somewhere and needed a ride home," from the corners of her eyes she looked at him, "but when they were not around, my girlfriend was with me in hard times, and my tutor was around to motivate me," he tried to take another sip, but the bottle was empty, "they helped me in my darkest times, whatever that entailed."

He looked at the sad girl, "Now, I'd like to know why you hate me," she took a deep breath before beginning, "For so long, I've been told that the future of this world balances upon the palms of my hand," she couldn't stop fidgeting with her feet, "That a strong ruler is mandatory to guide this realm into continued prosperity," she almost fell over, but caught herself with a supporting hand, "Years of my life I have dedicated and spent to honing my skills, perfecting my abilities," she stared at him, an odd fury in her eyes, but that fury shot past him, "and then you show up from nowhere, a future none knows about, rummaging through a world he barely knows something of and putting my years of hard work to shame. Twice," her voice hitched, "For all my life, I prepared to lead. But if some peasant from nowhere could outstrip my skills, how can I possibly lead an entire realm to everlasting peace and prosperity?"

He looked behind him to see a waiter standing awkwardly at the doorway. Chronos held up his bottle, signalling the waiter to get another one, and he nodded, "I…my friend…" he shushed her, "Look, I'm not going to tell you how to feel or what to do with all this. I don't know you, remember?" she laughed softly, "But if there's anything I can help you with, it's what I'm best at," she sniggered, "Help me?" and he continued, "How many times have you been told something is insufficient or lacking during, say, training with someone?" she shrugged, "I thought so. Now what I'm about to suggest is far below your status, I know, but you have to listen, even if you're damn near wasted," her nod was heavy.

"The day after tomorrow, you and I are going to train, wherever you wish, and we're going to evaluate you strengths and weaknesses as quick as possible," the waiter had returned with a bottle, and he accepted, "Do you agree?" a long while, he spent in anticipation, the Princess occupied with weighing the pros and cons in her head, before finally making a decision, "Yes, I agree," and he gave a warm smile, his pearly whites entrancing her, "Good," he stood up, and she attempted to follow, but was too tired and drunk to stand properly. It was fortunate the dragon was around to keep her balanced on her feet, "Where's your bedroom?" the Princess was concise, "Right, stairs, second floor, left corridor, third door on the left," and he began dragging hammered royalty to her bedroom, but not before setting his nearly full bottle of booze down.

A few people passed by, some just looked, others asked what was wrong, to which Chronos simply said the sapphire princess was feeling tired. All that asked did not pry any further, and the trip to her room was uneventful. He pushed her door open to reveal a brilliant room, one candle lit on a cupboard near her canopy bed, which was so large it could fit four people, navy blue curtains and bedsheets adorning it. There was some furniture here and there, but the room was so dark he couldn't make much of it beside their general shape.

He carefully pulled aside the curtains and laid the princess in her bed, on top of her bedsheets. It appeared she was fast asleep, her mind catching up with her body. In the dim light, he could see her dried up mascara plastered on her cheeks, her shaky breathing from the cold of the rain. He pulled the sheets from underneath her and draped them over the cold girl, now snuggling into the sheets. He looked around a bit more, noticing a painting of her family before leaving her room. With a quick pace, he found himself back in the throne room, where the amount of guests had considerably decreased, yet his original table was still fully occupied.

Aszara noticed him first, her pale green eyes tracking him across the room, with the others following suit. Henriette stood up and approached him, smirking all the while, "You had a good conversation with the princess?" he cast his look downward for a moment before looking into her intense blue eyes, "I guess you were right," she closed her eyes, "Of course I was," Aszara joined them, while Tau'Gir and Ariana were having their own conversation at their table, "So, you made up with the hot-tempered heir?" Chronos nodded in acknowledgement, "Great, she might actually not be a bitch for once," she stared upward into nothing before looking at the dragon, "Hey, I visited Jade today and she told me to pick something up for the Princess. I was nice enough to, but you might need the extra goodwill more than me," she grabbed a card from somewhere in her clothes, had a waiter fetch a quill and ink from somewhere and started writing, "The package is in the lobby, designated _'For my dearest friend, Kitana'_ ," she handed him the note, "Make sure she gets it."

Chronos took the note from her hands and nodded before leaving to the lobby. Once he got there, a single guard stood post, and it wasn't the bumbling one, "Ah, overseer Chronos, may I help you?" he approached the guard, "That package behind you," the guard took a peek behind him, "I need to bring it personally," the guard stared wearily, but didn't protest, "So long as you don't rouse the guards, I'll let you wander the halls, but be swift. Strolling through the corridors at night evokes suspicion," the dragon gave a quick pat on the guard's shoulder plate before snatching the package from the cupboard. He once again made his way to the sapphire woman's chambers, opening the door quietly. She was fast asleep still, and he set down the package on the cupboard beside the bed.

It was good a single small candle still burned so he could see what his female overseer had written for him, and suffice to say, it's lewdness seeped through the parchment, " _Dear Princess, I hope to warm your bed someday, yours truly, Chronos,_ " and he stuffed it in a pocket before scouring her room for new parchment. After a minute, he had all he needed to write something new, and he placed the note upon the package before leaving the Princess' room again. He remembered he left a bottle in the garden, so he took a small detour to pick it up. He found it, the glass a bit foggy and cool.

"You're quite good at making amends," a voice came from behind. Chronos was spooked slightly, but the mysterious man revealed himself to be Caine, his voice still quite cool, his mask still firmly attached to his head, "First the foreign girl, and now royalty. You should consider being a mediator," Chronos snickered, "My short fuse wouldn't help me," he looked at the bottle, "Why weren't you at the party, Caine?" and his eldritch mask seemed to move with the man's expression firmly hidden behind it, "Some experiments kept me from attending, and these could be vital to the progress of my research," he didn't divulge more about it, "I was to deliver something here, and I expected a more illustrious event," he straightened himself out, "I was mistaken."

"A shame," Chronos said half-heartedly, "The party was a lot better at the start," and Caine laughed, "I believe it was," Chronos looked at his bottle for a moment, "See you around, Chronos," he said, and when the dragon looked up, the man had disappeared into nothingness. He stared at his bottle, thinking it might be stronger than he imagines.

* * *

 _"My head hurts,"_ she thought to herself, the rays of sunlight stinging in her eyes. With a groan, she manages to lift herself from her bed, sheets sliding off. She didn't remember too much, but a look in the mirror revealed that she at least had a rough night. She spotted a box on her cupboard with what looked like two notes, one on the side, one placed on top. She walked over and picked up the box, removing the note from the top, opening the one on the side, and it read, " _To my dearest friend, Kitana_ ," and it warmed her heart. She opened the box to reveal a blueberry pie, and a breathy laugh escaped her throat. She also took a look at the other note, and while its calligraphy was exceptional, the words suddenly slingshot a memory back into her mind, and she sighed at her own idiocy.

" _Training starts next sunrise."_

* * *

bilbo swaggins

Hey y'alls, trying out a new format, hope it doesn't give you permanent blindness. Also, no EPIC battle sequence this time, felt it would drag out the chapter for too long. As always, R&R or I'll have a friendly discussion with you about my shortcomings.

\- The Coolest Penguin on the South Pole


	7. I-VII: Changing Pace

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter VII**

 **Changing Pace**

* * *

The tapping of heels on the dining hall's floor was a noise she had very often disregarded in her mind, but the vivid after-effects of the royal banquet did not fade, and her mind wasn't able to shut out the clacking. The Princess couldn't eat or drink as much as she normally would, nor was she exactly fleet of feet or mind. Her thoughts were all in the gutter, one particular thought circling around in her mind. She prayed he wouldn't show up.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" the King asked, taking a sip from his tea, "You appear to be preoccupied today," he thought for a while, "For several days, actually."

"Apologies, father," she said, circling the edge of the plate with her fork, "The party has just taken a tremendous toll on my body and spirit," she stabbed at the food on her plate, "I hope this will pass within a few days from now."

"What happened back then, Kitana?" the Queen joined their conversation, "Does something stir within you? Perhaps some inappropriate behaviour from our guests?" her cup rested in her hand, "We can arrange to have them reprimanded."

"No you don't," she said under her breath, just silent enough to miss her parents' ears, "No, I haven't been harassed by the guests," she took a bite from her meat, "Just some minor troubles, nothing to concern yourselves about."

"Are you sure, darling?" Jerrod put his hand on his daughter's, "If there's anything we can do…," but Kitana interrupted him, "I am certain I do not require your aid, father," she sighed, "Apologies, but I must depart. I want to clear my mind and prepare for my training."

"We understand, dear," Sindel took a sip from her tea, "I suppose we will chat later in the day."

Kitana gave a small bow before leaving the table, speeding off to her chambers to dress more appropriately for sparring with her tutor. She reached her chambers and headed for her closet, fishing out her leotard. It was fairly standard, the only thing standing out was the open slit on the front, the leotard held together by black strings. She donned it and headed for the courtyard immediately, where she found her tutor relaxing on the few stairs that were present. His look was an off-beat mixture of joy and resignation.

"You look out of place," the Princess noted, and her tutor agreed, "Unfortunately, I have been relieved of my duties," the sapphire heir eyed him, and he continued, "By the Queen's command, my position has been transferred to someone else."

"To who?" and she couldn't even fathom the thought, "I apologise, but I think of a fat man with a scar across his eye and a rather massive lack of respect for his superiors."

"I doubt the fat, but he is akin to much of it," the tutor shrugged his shoulders, "but I did assess his skills in kombat to see whether he was fit to teach," he rolled his shoulders, "He was exceptionally skilled, suffice to say."

"Naturally," her tone was laced with anger, "but how did he even manage to usurp your position?" she asked, crossing her arms, "Did he bribe you? Threaten you? I theorise the last option to be more realistic."

"Well, you see, it's neither of those, as much as you'd like to believe, your Highness," he spotted the quick raise of her eyebrows, "From what I can understand, the Queen has been informed that you gave your new tutor oral permission to commence with your new training."

Kitana barely kept herself from burying her face in her hands, "A mistake, one I hope to correct soon, once I rid myself of my new tutor," her eyes lit up, "Besides, when is he to arrive? I could do with some entertainment."

"He's already here," he said, and her heart skipped a beat when he proclaimed that. More importantly, she noticed the shadow looming over her from behind, and she turned around to see his stoic face stare at her from a superior height, "Greetings, Chronos. I surmise you have come to uphold your agreement?"

"Our agreement," he corrected, "but yes, I've come to make sure that you get better at kicking people's ass," he turned to the tutor, "Sorry for stealing your job, sir."

He waved his hand at him, "My résumé will speak for itself," he got up from his impromptu seat, "Princess Kitana, it has been an honour teaching you for the last years, and I hope this man teaches you much more than I could," and Kitana's face rested on her fingertips. The tutor left the dragon and the woman to their own devices.

"Fine, let us start then," she said rather reluctantly, "but I have to attend lunch, so…," but the burly man was quick to shut her down, "You will leave when I allow you to leave."

She rested a hand on her hip, "You are commanding me to remain here against my will?" she was to continue, but his frown grew so deep it was liable to deform his face forever, so she kept it short, "As you wish, my great and skilled tutor," her hands were pointing at him, and he did not see the humour of it all.

"We start with a basic analysis of your skill level and technical prowess," he assumed his fighting stance, "I will test this by giving you a task," he put one hand behind his back, "You have to hit me once."

She laughed at him, but he appeared to be dead serious. She rolled her eyes and charged out of the blue, a flat hand aimed for his face, but he skilfully deflected it into nothing. A wave of strikes aimed at anywhere on the dragon's body, and none of them hit. Even attempting to catch him sleeping by tapping him on the shin with her foot proved to be futile, as he kicked her legs away from his own. An agonising two minutes of trying to hit him once, and that goal was apparently beyond her reach. He eventually dashed from her reach and relaxed his form.

"Hm, a valiant effort, but lacklustre," her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, "I suppose we have to work on your ability to recognise and exploit patterns and weaknesses," she gazed at him for a while before speaking, "You believe I am unable to recognise your lousy defensive tricks?"

He crossed his arms, "You couldn't beat lousy guarding, is what you are saying," his smile and inclined face were not inviting to her, "No, it means I held back," she said, and his response was odd, "If you're telling the truth, don't. I can take a punch, I'm not here to be pretty. I'm here to teach you."

And he assumed his stance again.

"Commence."

And for several weeks, that was the drill. Every sunrise, she'd get her ass kicked, learn nothing and go to bed. She had requested for him to removed, but the Queen and, surprisingly, King had vetoed that decision. Very rarely did he ever give advice, and if he did, it was cryptic. Something along the lines of 'look' and 'be concise' which, for a long time, was mostly empty words and very unhelpful for her advancement in her art of kombat. Many times, she'd spend the night contemplating her session, hoping to come to some sort of epiphany. Many times, she'd give up, but one fateful day, an idea popped up in her head.

He'd told her to be concise, to be less pronounced, which suddenly manifested itself as cutting down the time she spent winding up her strikes and kicks and more time landing them. And lo and behold, it gave the dragon a harder time blocking her strikes at first, but it seemed to be compensated when he learned what they looked like, which gave her a second realisation. He was always tracing her body, and at first she assumed him to be a lecherous deviant admiring her curves, but the more she got beaten, the more she was driven to figure him out. It finally resulted in her style becoming faster, harder, less predictable, less reliant upon her grace, more reliant upon her excellent physique and skill.

It lead to this day, nearly three months after her training started. She'd been on her way to the courtyard when she spotted a familiar old face, albeit with crutches supporting her weight. Her eyes welled up with tears and she broke out in a sprint, just barely stopping herself from ramming her friend full speed. A strong hug made the ebony gasp for air.

"Ribs, ribs, Kitana," she breathed and Kitana let go fast, "Apologies, Jade, just…," Kitana was out of breath somehow, and the emerald bodyguard shushed her before her tears suffocated the sapphire princess, "Don't worry, I expected something like this," she let her head dip a little, "What I didn't expect was that a familiar face to be your, ahem, _teacher_. Care to explain what happened in the time I was in the hospital?"

"An unfortunate event prompted this change," the sapphire princess pinched the bridge of her nose, "Suffice to say, I disliked the prospect tremendously," the ebony bore a questioning look, and Kitana elaborated, "However, I do not deny I rather admire his teaching. It relies on both of us to understand each other's conventions and ways of learning."

"So what you are saying is that you don't desire to disembowel him every time you lay eyes upon him," the ebony gave a sly smile, "I am impressed. It seems the Queen's decision to keep him here was a success, even with the many obstacles that had to be conquered to reach this point."

"It has been quite a dramatic period in my life to be sure, but I am confident that today, I show that I can back up my words with my skill," the bodyguard shrugged her shoulders, "I'd like to see you do so, Kitana. That might be amusing to watch."

"Yes, quite amusing," the sapphire princess smiled, "You will be pleasantly surprised to witness the conclusion to this story's arc," the bodyguard shook her head.

"Spare me your haughtiness, Princess," the ebony began slowly moving towards the courtyard, with Kitana in tow, "I'll believe it when I see it," she looked up through the mosaic windows, "It appears sunrise has just passed."

"Administrative complications delayed my arrival," she explained, "I was supposed to be here at sunrise and no later, but I cannot forfeit my duties in favour of his unorthodox teaching," Jade stared at her friend.

"Unorthodox?" the ebony pondered the choice of words, "I was prepared to suffer a long-winded monologue about how his way of teaching was below you," the blue-clad woman huffed.

"As I said, his teaching does help me progress," she said, "and that training is going to pay off."

They arrived at the courtyard, where Chronos was sitting cross-legged, that white air-warping aura engulfing his body. Kitana strode down the steps, and the big man didn't even say anything while rising, assuming his stance without sound. The princess mimicked him, assuming her stance without uttering a single snarky insult. Jade was satisfied in some odd sense, gone for so long that the Princess' lack of insults and preachiness put a mild strain on her thoughts.

Without a single second of stalling, the blueberry woman dashed a lightning fast dash, aiming a fist at the dragon's sternum, which was excellently dodged, and another strike at his gut, which wasn't evaded in time. The princess continued her calculated advance, slowly pressuring her burly male opponent into considering his attacks. An opening in his defence presented itself when she feinted a kick to trip him and he instinctively dodged, but his momentum had him unprepared for the follow-up kick, one with much greater force to the knee which crumpled him slightly.

Her assault seemed to wear down his stamina, but a slight mistake on the Princess' side was punished without relent, the woman hurled over the man with exceptional strength, having a second or two of airtime before crashing down onto the marble floor. She flipped up from the cold surface to see the behemoth slowly creeping up on her, hands at the ready. A quick dash towards him halted the man's momentum, forcing him in a more defensive stance, and Kitana restarted her offence, delivering more pokes to keep him honest.

After a long-winded period of exchanging small blows, Chronos' appeared to be drained of his energy, sweating profusely, moving slower than usual. Kitana picked her moment carefully, assessing the situation and waiting for the dragon to commit to a mistake, which didn't take too long as he threw a slightly sloppy straight. She ducked under it and retaliated with a potent strike to his sternum that knocked the wind out of him. The princess capitalised on his momentary stunned state and unleashed several furious blows that sent waves through his body.

He was slowly faltering and the sapphire-clad heir finally put an end to her losing streak with an unusual method of attack; a powerful shoulder that transferred so much force to the big man that he was thrown back a yard or two by the smaller, lighter woman. With that blow, the dragon was slain, the heroine victorious over the beast that plagued her town. At least, in her head that was. She was jumping up and down in joy, while Chronos suffered silently on the floor.

"Yes!" her cheer was audible enough to deafen Jade a bit, "At long last, I win!" she marched up to the downed man and taunted him, "Let it be known that I, heir to the throne of Edenia, have defeated the mighty beast known as Chronos!" she looked around to see her friend snicker. The Princess smiled, just before her downed opponent spoke weakly.

"Congratulations," he whispered, "you have bested me," he tried to get up, "today, you have proven yourself a better warrior than me."

In her excitement, she oversaw the struggle the burly man was experiencing just getting up from his face-down position, but his arms shook so badly he sank back down to the cold floor in mere seconds. Kitana did manage to calm herself down after receiving a withered look from her ebony friend, and the heir caught sight of the large man just lying down. She found it amusing for several seconds, but a twinge of guilt did finally pervade her mind. After all, despite their heads butting every three seconds they were in contact, he did offer up his time and effort to help her improve. As much as she despised the man before, it did look like his heart was not yet entirely composed of stone.

She walked over to him and slung and arm around her shoulder to help him to his feet to find that the dragon was hilariously heavy, and she was having a rough time dragging him to a bench. Her friend had limped off in the meanwhile, coming back at the moment Kitana perched her opponent on the bench. Jade had apparently fetched some medical supplies from somewhere to bandage him up, but she handed them over to the sapphire-clad woman, who was puzzled as to why. They could just get a priest to patch him up fairly fast, but maybe that wasn't Jade's intention. She hopped away again, making great leaps with her crutches, leaving Kitana to attend to the wounded man.

She kneeled next to the man and inspected his wounds, which were fairly surface-level, and the ones still bleeding visibly could be counted on a single finger. Regardless, she began patching up even the smallest wounds, starting with his right hand which had a small incision running along the length of it. Carefully bandaging up the wound, she noticed his rather lean hands, more appropriate for someone who was adept at playing a violin or harp or piano, not designed to hurt. His fingers were slim, his nails surprisingly long and clean, but his palms were calloused from whatever he did outside of fighting. She moved on to other wounds to take care of, but she had to ask him about his hands.

"I like your hands," she mentally banged her head against the wall for delivering her question in the most unflattering way possible, "I wouldn't peg someone with them as a fighter," he looked at her a bit drowsily, clearly still shook up from the several strikes that could inflict concussions on its own.

"You're not the only one," he began, "back when I was a little bit younger, my mum and dad would send me to some piano lessons. Thought I was a natural at it," he lifted his unwounded hand, "they weren't wrong though. If there was anything I was good at other than what I do now, it was playing the piano."

"I surmise you did not keep playing the piano considering what you do now," Kitana said, and the man nodded in acknowledgement.

"I wasn't enjoying it," he continued, "Lots of pressure on performing right, especially when other rich kid parents were around and about. Gotta say, having all eyes on you is sort of discouraging to some extent. It became annoying when other pompous assholes would just brush my skill aside as being born lucky enough to play the piano well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kitana sympathised with him, "I suppose mortal beings are rather judgemental."

"Well, it's not why I quit, because those rich kids that played the piano as well sucked ass anyways," the princess let an invisible smile form on her lips, "It's because I was bored with it, didn't feel like I was having any sort of fun. No exhilarating moments for me, no variables to take into account with a sheet of music. You got something that can't change."

"Well, I find that a loss," he looked at her when she said that, "I like the contrast of such a delicate creation being played by a goliath with lean hands."

"I wasn't exactly ripped when I played the piano," he noted, "but true, I would have found it fun to bamboozle people with my swift fingers hitting the notes just right," she smiled at that mention.

"I guess you can play all sorts of notes just right," she said, and he grunted, probably from her bandaging the still bleeding wound, "Including those of the ladies. Jade and I tend to talk about what happens at the Academy, and from what I hear, some of the women over there appear to be intrigued by your brooding and silent persona. I even heard that one of the overseers tried to get you so drunk that you'd sleep with her."

"Hm, yes, I suppose that was what she was trying to do," he thought about the last couple of months, "Azsara was obvious, she looked like she was on a dry spell for years, and the other women over at the Academy seem to suffer from being stuck in there for most of their days. Didn't get that feeling when I play overseer."

"Guess they don't think fondly of you?" she assessed correctly.

"I overhear things, and it boils down to being treated too harshly," he rolled his shoulders, "but that's just the thing about me and, eh, your kind," he gauged her response, but it appeared she didn't mind, "I don't have several thousands of years to just loiter away, if I reach a hundred I'm damn lucky. Or not, depending on whether I'm losing my sanity or not."

"As long as you live your life to the fullest," she commented and it looked like he agreed with her.

"Mmm," he almost groaned, and she noticed her hands running across his body, his iron muscle impressive to the touch and sight, and his tattoo was very well-crafted with some impressive detail on it. She was mesmerised for a second or two before her eyes shot up to his. She was relieved he didn't notice her momentary lapse of restraint.

"I also noticed your note that you left me on the day of the banquet," she started, "I guess your lean fingers found something else to commit themselves to."

"Yeah, that's something I did enjoy," he admitted, "More than once, I'd write something down and people would mistake my handwriting for that of a girl's," she hummed at that remark.

"Boys write worse than girls?" and he nodded at her question, "Is that a common Earthrealm occurrence?"

"Probably more along the line of stereotypes living a long time," he commented, "but sure, boys write worse than girls. Not like that around here?"

"No," was all she had to say before she moved on quickly, "I also found your other note."

"Hm, what other note?" he asked, and she smiled a devious smile, and his face grew worrisome, like something went awry, "I have a hard time recollecting what other note I left-"

She hushed him before speaking, "You'd like to warm my bed someday?" he seemed genuinely embarrassed by the mention of the lewd note, "How literal am I supposed to take that?"

"You're not supposed to consider it an option, and you weren't supposed to find it, I stashed it away," he was quick to emphasise it, "Aszara was the one that wrote it to get me in an awkward situation," she gazed at him.

"She succeeded, it appears," and he let an awkward laugh escape his throat, but she wasn't done, "Say, would you like it?" he raised an eyebrow at that question, but as soon as her eyelids grew heavy, he shifted on the bench, slightly uncomfortable with the question.

"Uhhhh…" she grinned at his massive discomfort, "I mean, you're attractive and, uh, you're good at fighting people, and…" he appeared to be at a loss for words for a while, so she gave him an easier question.

"Men and women alike would die to be in this position," she leaned in, her lips close to his ears, "So I will ask a final time, and I expect a yes or a no from you," her warm breath on the side of his neck gave him goosebumps, "Would you like to fuck me?"

She moved away from him again, and his face was almost aghast at her abrasive approach at coercing an answer from him. His eyes darted everywhere and nowhere except her eyes, and she didn't know whether it was because he wanted to say yes or no. After a full five seconds of him fidgeting with his fingers and running his hand through his short hair, she decided she had enough fun bullying this poor kid.

"I will allow you to consider the inquiry a bit longer, but for now, I will take my leave," she got up from her kneeling position, "and besides, I've managed to tend to all your wounds," he looked all over to see, indeed, most of his wounds bandaged and patched up.

"I didn't give you permission to leave right now," he berated her, but before she could respond, he continued, "I am giving you permission to leave."

She turned back around and rounded a corner to one of the halls, where she found her friend leaning against the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation. The princess silently signalled the ebony bodyguard to follow her to the princess' room, which she did without saying a single word. Arriving at the chambers, Kitana plopped on the bed with Jade limping behind, shutting the door slowly. After a second or two of the princess adjusting herself on the bed, she spoke.

"So, what did you overhear, my friend?" she asked, "Did you hear me…" Jade was quick to answer.

"You do understand that the attitude you are presenting now contradicts with the one you presented for several months," she resettled herself on her crutches, "I'd like to tell you about something Chronos told me," the sapphire heir raised a finger to interrupt, but restrained herself, "He told me that young boys would tease girls if they liked them, and vice versa."

Kitana rolled her eyes, "Yes, Jade, I understand what you're alluding to, but our dispute was much grander than pulling on each other's ponytails," the green-eyed mistress shifted her weight around, "and besides, what chance in all the realms would there be that he would like me?" it sounded more like she was looking for confirmation than for shaking away these thoughts.

"Is it because of prince Rain's affections towards you?" Kitana let loose some hysterical laughter, but Jade looked dead serious, "I wouldn't be all too surprised that your actions stem from a dislike of his proclamations of claiming you as his trophy," the princess let her laughter expire before speaking again.

"Rain's compliments and interest are superfluous and vain," she said, "Only serving one purpose, and that is to claim the throne of Edenia for himself."

"It is clear Rain desires more influence in the realm," the ebony said, "His negotiations with Jerrod about Alythandir and its surrounding territories have been exceptionally aggressive, and the prince's family has been threatening with military action if their demands are not met."

"Hah, if anything, the prince and his lowlife relatives will scamper off once they are devastated by the might of our armies," she rose from her bed, "And I will enjoy seeing him whimper when it happens so."

"I always let your pettiness slip my mind," Jade said, "Do keep in mind what I've said. Maybe you should see if you can invite Chronos over for tea."

Kitana laughed, but the ebony's piercing eyes did send the message. As Jade left the room, struggling a bit with the crutches, she pondered her own vague feelings about this topic. They had to be cleared up, and maybe Jade's suggestion was the best way about it; invite the dragon over for a cup of tea.

* * *

When you die, I'm going to default dance on your grave.

Back at it again with a shitty chapter, shorter than the last one. At this rate, the eleventh chapter is going to be nine words. Review and favourite and stuff so I can feel accomplished. Also, I'm trimming down the dialogue format due to a 100% backlash comprised of 1 people, so I'm trying to find a balance between what works and what I feel is the right direction for the format of this story.

P.S.: On a more serious note, I could use more reviews to properly gauge what is currently working and what could be edited and improved. Alwaysdoubted, love ya brew, but you're just one perspective.

\- Frozen Yoghurt Man


	8. I-VIII: Future Pasts & Past Futures

**A.N.: For now, this story will be rated T to increase visibility, but also because as of right now, the story is really not M-worthy, which will probably change in the next chapter or two.**

 **I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act 1, Chapter VIII**

 **Future Pasts & Past Futures**

* * *

Charlatans and jesters conglomerated on the plaza, magicians and fire jugglers enthralling the spectators who were generous enough to throw them a coin or two. Little stalls had been erected overnight, each painted with fantastical colours, each with sewn patterns that mesmerised the beholder. The shouts and bellows of salesmen could be heard even with the chatter of the common folk, and the sweet scents of strawberry cakes and honey tea were intoxicating. Chronos wished he'd come into this world on the right foot instead of attempting to disfigure royalty.

The full moon lingered above the fairgrounds, cloudless skies revealing bright stars beaming beyond, and even in the darkest streets of the fair, the moonlight illuminated all sorts of figures, from illustrious nobles to shaggy groups of sailors chanting and staggering through the streets while slinging their ales around in their hands. He managed to avoid ramming into them face first, passing them by to reveal a circle of people gathered in one of the makeshift square.

He managed to squeeze by a few smaller people and saw a couple dancers swaying their hips in entrancing ways, their eyes commanding you to stare into them. The dragon sat himself down in a cross-legged position, which was a lot less comfortable with a fully-fledged outfit than with some shaggy leggings. Despite the mildly uncomfortable position, he enjoyed the sight of the mostly voluptuous dancers, each armed with an instrument, engrossed in their art.

Only half a minute had passed by before the dancers began pulling audience members into their show, with one of them, profoundly tanned, strutting towards the cross-legged man. She reached for his arm, but he managed to pull a woman in front of him to take the fall. The dancer grabbed her instead, but did glance back at Chronos, who conjured up a sly smile, and the dancer shook her head in exaggerated disappointment. It wasn't a whole while longer before he rose from the ground and made his way somewhere else; he'd like to try that honey tea he'd caught the smell of earlier.

He did find the stall, a surprisingly large one at that, and ordered a cup of tea before taking a seat at one of the standing tables perched in front of the stall. He leaned mildly on it, his gaze following everyone who managed to catch his interest, from pretty girls to outlandishly suited mustachio men, letting his thoughts wander for a moment. His honey tea came on by eventually, served by a rather handsome man he couldn't ignore, and he began slowly sipping away at the sweetness of it. He tasted some cinnamon too, a nice touch.

Finished with his drink, he departed from the stall, not before paying the people for their service, and let himself be carried around by his restless legs. He felt like he had spent one second walking before arriving at a familiar building, but he never did have a moment to spare to admire the impressive metalwork within the frame of the double doors. The lights still burned inside, and he couldn't help but think back to that point, where he was just some guy hiding from the storm.

He pushed open the doors to find the place empty, the curving stairs still in pristine condition and the chandelier above as lavish as ever. He marched over to the bar, noticing the woodwork being sleeker and shinier than the last time he visited, and perched himself on top of a stool, grabbing a glass and rolling it around on the edge. He heard a door open and another familiar aspect of the bar greeted him.

"Oh, hello sir," she straightened out her clothes, "I apologise, we're not serving any customers tonight, the Royal Family is seated upstairs."

"Can't even say hello to an acquaintance?" he said, removing the hood of his robe, revealing his tattered face. The girl stared for a second or two before the realisation struck her, "That guy."

"Oh my, apologies!" she hastily began pouring him a drink, "I hadn't recognised you."

"Not so strange, I'd say," he remembered the girl and a bit of the conversation. He spared no thought afterwards- being on the cusp of death tends to divert one's mind- but he could now appreciate the bartender in full, her dark golden hair shining in the light of the chandelier, her hands slim and slender, her eyes a deep sea blue. Her frame was quite petite, unusual for what he´d seen from most Edenian women, but her wide hips did attract. He was quite impressed, "I remember the Princess was going to have you reprimanded for your serious transgression."

The woman laughed a bit, "Yes, she was awfully threatening back then," she gave him a full glass of ale, "but my employer was quite calm about the whole situation, figured the heir wouldn't even remember me from the event."

The dragon smiled, "But I do," she revealed a phantom smile before he asked her something else, "You remember I asked you why the Royal family was here?"

"Yes, they were discussing the issue of the Alythandir Plains," she bore a confused look, "Why?"

He took a swig before setting down the ale, "I also asked you about the annexation by a foreign force. I've never managed to get an answer to that because of my own forgetfulness," her expression grew grim, "Mind if you could tell me what this annexation is all about?"

She shuffled a bit on her feet and awkwardly looked around before answering, "Do you know what Mortal Kombat is?" Chronos shook his head, "Every 50 years, we send our best warriors to Outworld to compete in Mortal Kombat, a tournament. Its purpose is to give us a fighting chance against invaders like Outworld by making them have to win ten tournaments in a row to legally invade our world and merge it with his," the dragon only gave her an empty stare, but it was probably because the concept of merging realms was alien, "As it stands now, Outworld has won nine tournaments in a row. The reason the Academy is set up is to train warriors for this tournament. That the current batch of prospective fighters isn't up to par to the standards of what we need isn't just a bit regretful, it's devastating!"

The bartender began tearing up a bit, "Tens of thousands will have to run from the terror of the Emperor, thousands of us will be cut down by his relentless horde of mindless creatures," she was barely able to hold back her sobbing, "You know, my dad's a soldier in our army, and he's going to hold the line for us to escape to places like Earthrealm or Seido," she took a deep breath, "I don't want to leave him behind, but that's what's going to happen in just a few months from now. This place, where I grew up, where the sun shines all day, where the forests teem with life like nowhere else, never to be seen like it's supposed to be," she looked up into the dragon's eyes, who was all a bit bewildered at this, "Do you know Al'Kei? It's a big tree in the Al'Kei Jungle, a tree that reaches above mountains," her face grew melancholic, "It's going to be a shame to see it all go."

Her eye-liner had run our across her cheeks and she was sniffing profusely. She wanted to just clean some glasses, but her hands were shaking too much to do so. She hadn't seen Chronos vault over the counter next to her, so she was mildly spooked when she did notice. Before she could even say a word, the big man went in for a hug, to which the bartender just began crying her heart out on his chest. She spent a whole twenty second just bawling in his chest before letting go. She used a wash-cloth to wipe away her tears, but it smudged her eye-liner all over her cheek.

"I'm sorry for asking," the dragon apologised, "Shouldn't have brought it up like that."

She began cleaning up her face, "No, it's fine," she said, "I'm just a bit emotional at the moment."

"Yeah, I figured," he hopped back over the counter and chugged the rest of his ale, "I'll just leave you to your duties," he chuckled a bit before thinking aloud, "I guess the Princess was a bit on edge for a reason," he looked back at the girl, "You know, I've never gotten your name. Might I ask what it is?"

"Susanna," she replied, "Second name of my mom."

"Pretty name," he said and she gave a courteous smile, "Have a good night, ma'am."

He slung his hood back over his head before leaving, back to the fair outside, not noticing the beautiful lady watching him from atop the railing. Her little meeting had been adjourned just now, with Rain almost throwing a fit and her father losing his temper, which resulted in a rather angry back-and-forth. Eventually, things calmed down, and the meeting concluded with Rain still not being handed control of the plains. It was dreadfully boring, but she'd much rather have the purple prince's attention focused on her father than herself.

"My dear," speak of the devil, "shall we go? I have reserved a seat at the finest restaurant, and I would hate to have the employees waiting for our presence."

"Yes, let us depart, Rain," she was half listening to him since while on their way, nodding and agreeing to his self-absorbed monologues and superficial acknowledgements of the events around them. It was astounding how little she remembered of the trip to the restaurant despite being fully awake. To be fair, the restaurant was intoxicating, the mood was lulling and the lighting was dim. It was almost a perfect place for the prince to work his charms on the sapphire heir.

"Good evening, sir, madam," the head waiter bowed respectfully, "Allow us to guide you to your table."

The royal pair were guided throughout the establishment towards a table close to the stage, on which a piano was stationed, which was vacant for now. The atmosphere was soothing and serene, the lighting was lulling. If Rain knew anything, it was picking a restaurant to work his magic. Unfortunately for him, she'd figured out his magic and had become nearly impervious to it. The prince offered her her seat, as it would behoove a courteous man, and once she had taken it, sat down himself as well. The waiters had offered them wine on the house, and they were generous enough to accept it. It would help all parties if the royal pair were inebriated to improve their interactions with each other.

A long thirty minutes passed, the blueberry woman expectantly waiting for her meal, while the purple-clad royalty boasted about his conquests in war and love, with her absent nodding further perpetuating his already inflated ego. It was a shame too; he was quite handsome, his face chiselled by the Gods themselves, a warm and shining smile, his almond-shaped eyes almost commanding unconditional attention, his form fit and flawless. All of those fantastic aesthetic qualities, wasted on a superficial and vain man.

She noticed a firm discussion between what appeared to be the owner and one of his employees, of which the former was looking livid and gesturing towards the piano in an awfully animated way. They appeared to be going at it for several minutes before approaching the royal pair, each with furrowed brows and small beads of sweat on their foreheads, probably because the Princess' eyes were now fixated upon them. They spent well over five seconds mentally bracing themselves, which could only have dire implications.

"Sir, eh, madam," the owner started, with Rain only now taking notice now, "there have been some unfortunate developments for today's programme," the poor sod began rubbing the back of his neck, "as it stands now, our scheduled pianist has been afflicted with an illness that leaves him bedridden."

Rain was quick to bemoan it all, "I apologise too, good sir," he began inspecting his fingernails, "I was under the impression this establishment was worth my time and resources," he turned his head fully to the owner, who was imperceptibly shaking on his legs, "Unless you can find a sufficient replacement for your pianist, I am to regretfully conclude this restaurant is worth neither."

The owner and his confidante were now at wits' end, with several other tables eyeing the royal pairs', with whispers of doubt spreading throughout the restaurant. The princess did feel pity for the poor owner and his cohorts. After all, the issue was outside of their powers, and now they might be under the scrupulous eye of potential customers who would turn their sights on supposedly greener pastures. She looked outside to see someone familiar stalk the streets, his hands deep in the pockets of his blue robes, only sparing a glimpse inside the restaurant.

Kitana could only smile, "Say, I might know someone to help you out," she turned back to the owner, who bore what could be described a face that just found ten secret treasure chests in his back yard, "I know of a person who might be able to fill that empty seat in front of the piano," the owner waited with unbound anticipation, "He's the man in the blue robe walking outside," the man spared a flash of a moment to see who it was, "You should attempt to get him to play. He might need to be convinced to do so. Offer him a three course dinner on the house, just to be safe."

Once it was clear the sapphire heir was done talking, several of his employees rushed outside to apprehend the blue-clad man. She watched them stop him in his tracks, his enormous figure almost comical next to the lean and slim waiters, who appeared to be doing their best to get him to go inside. At first, the big man looked on the verge of ploughing through the tiny waiters, but they either mentioned Kitana, food or both to finally get him to walk inside. He, along with his newfound posse, spent a good few seconds passing their table before she heard a dreadful inquiry.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" it became clear they don't intend to tell him until he was put on the spot, "You're going to tell me, right?" he was lead next to the piano, "Do you want me to… _lift_ this thing away?" within half a second, his question was answered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for the delay," Chronos could only stare blankly at the owner, who was now bombastic and eccentric, "Our scheduled entertainment was unable to perform due to an illness, Gods bless him, but a valiant and brave man has selflessly sacrificed himself to take his place."

The dragon stared at the piano, back at the owner, to Kitana, who wore a deliciously devilish smile, then back at the piano, then at the delectable food, before she saw him mouthing what should sound like, _"Fucking cocksuckers,"_ which made it clear he wasn't too happy to be in this predicament. Naturally, the purple prince was no less than amused with the development of things.

"I suppose this restaurant will be worth at least my time," he snickered at it all, "I wish the boy had retained an item to savour this very moment," he leaned on the table with both his elbows, hand firmly clasped.

The big man looked absolutely lost, his eyes shifting between everyone present. He was slow to take his seat, stroking the keys of the piano, surprisingly deliberate, like recollecting old memories. He swiped off the sporadic specks of dust, sniffed it, and for a second, his head and eyes rolled back slightly, lost in an old life. Before long, he managed to finally plant a finger on one of the keys. What followed was an uninterrupted forty minutes of a musical masterpiece. Somewhere around that time, he intended to walk away. Kitana was no less than awestruck, while Rain seemed to detest the idea of acknowledging his skill, which doubled up to intensify her single, painful word.

" _Again!"_ she hollered, and many patrons joined her in shouting so. He froze up for a moment before returning to his seat and once again having to strain his muscle memory and, well, memory to perform again. It was a full hour of magnificence, and like many, Kitana was lost in trance, befuddled by the sheer passion the dragon played the instrument. Even during her ecstatic state, she could notice his eyes lingering on her for just a moment longer before resuming to gauge the crowd. Finally, the dragon's pose relaxed, appearing to be content with the performance he had delivered. The princess did hear another cry for an extended show, but it was met with the behemoth rolling his fingers across the keys before he stepped down from the stage.

He sat himself down at one of the seats near a window, staring at the festival's lights and fireworks illuminating the skies. He'd been on his way back to the Academy- he promised Azsara a sixth round of trying to get him drunk- but the sudden interception by the waiters promising a full three course meal on the house was tempting enough to forego that plan. He didn't need to hear the undying gratitude the royal heir would have for him for saving her romantic dinner, the free dinner was more than enough to get him to shake up his rusty fingers. It was good keeping his skills fresh.

He'd managed to chomp through his appetizer in no time, and by now, he was halfway through his very foreign and exotic kind of steak when the blue-clad woman sat with him in the booth, which he didn't notice immediately during his gorging of the damn delicious steak.

She straightened out her clothes before talking, "You told me that you stopped playing the piano," he looked up from his food, "I didn't expect you to play several sonatas this evening, I expected you to fumble around with the keys and attempt to conjure up a creation of your own," he put down his knife and fork to respond.

"I quit piano lessons quickly," he used a napkin to wipe smudges of steak sauce from the corners of his mouth, "but I didn't quit playing the piano," she raised an eyebrow, "Playing an instrument makes you a bit more attractive to the opposite sex."

She nodded, "True, I suppose it does raise your appeal," she gestured a waiter to come over, "although some other aspects do not," he shrugged his shoulders at her remark, right before the waiter appeared at their side, "Good sir, I'd like your finest rosemary tea," she looked at the animal who resumed devouring his food like prey, "and your largest pint of ale for this fine gentleman," Chronos didn't look up from his food, but did let a smile spread across his face. The waiter nodded happily, returning to the kitchen. The princess gazed in awe at the size of this lad, who had managed to tear through a big chunk of his steak in less than a minute, "You're not fond of savouring the taste, are you?"

He finished eating before answering, "I just eat a lot," he slowed the pace at which he shoved food down his throat, "I didn't exactly grow this large and strong by just sitting on my bum and watching Cheers all day," he explained before the Edenian got lost, "Cheers is a comedy show on tele- a comedy show, that's all you need to know," he reached for his food, "Oh, and drink a bunch of milk, gives you strong bones."

The drinks just arrived, Kitana's rosemary tea just hot enough, while Chronos' ale almost managed to dwarf him in size. He downed half of his ale in one go and slammed the pint down, some of it spilling over the edge and onto his steak. He didn't seem to mind when he took another bite out of it. In all her life, she had never seen someone eat so much in so little time, even compared to Chronos himself. It made her wonder if he was malnourished as a small child and was coping with it through eating.

She took a sip of her tea before asking, "Did you always eat this much?" he instinctively shook no while chewing on some food, "What was it like? Your home?" it seemed to be a question out of the blue, _'Hah,'_ but she hadn't heard much about him, other than some sweeping mentions about it by Jade.

"Not all too special," he took another large swig of his drink, "My mum and dad weren't around much, brother wasn't around much, nothing all too heart-shattering to be fair," he rubbed his tattooed arm, "They were around for the holidays, though," he smiled and stared off somewhere in space, "those days were fun."

"What was your family like?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"My mum was a neurosurgeon and worked at a hospital in another city. She wasn't home much," Kitana eyed him, confused at his terminology. He clarified quickly, "A neurosurgeon cuts up brains, I think," he waved it away, "My dad was a lawyer, travelled a lot because his clients usually lived damn near halfway across the state," he drank a lot more modestly now, "and my brother had some super secret mission somewhere in Southeast Asia, making sure the reds wouldn't flood the world or some dumb stuff like that," the princess was left to guess what 'reds' entailed, "but the last couple of years, he was home much more."

"What was that like?" she asked, and he stared at his almost empty pint before laughing, then laughing louder, then coughing uncontrollably before drinking the last bit of ale left.

"He didn't have the constitution I have."

* * *

He ruffled around in his pocket to find a couple of dimes in his pocket, handing them over to the cute delivery girl, "Here, for the effort," he said, having the snow-covered girl's eyes light up a bit.

"Thank you sir," she kindly said, "and enjoy your pizza."

He was drawn to say 'likewise' before realising how stupid that would sound, "Thanks, have a great night," he gave a warm smile before closing the door, taking a deep sniff of his warm pepperoni pizza from the local Uncle Joe's. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the television. He left it on a channel recounting the Bhopal incident, which was shaping up to be absolutely dramatic. It was odd to see something so terrible affect him so little. It was just so far away, too abstract of a thing to care. Or maybe he was too hungry to care.

He took a sweet slice of pizza and took one big bite before the phone was ringing. He had to lick his fingers off before picking it up, expecting his mum to tell him that she was coming home early for Christmas, but instead, it was a familiar voice that slurred all the way through her phone call.

 _"Heeeyyy,"_ Alex sounded absolutely hammered, _"look, I didn't wanna caaalll you but- Vera, please get away, Vera! Vera!"_ it was a bunch of laughter for a couple of seconds before his ex came back to the phone, _"Sorry, we're juust having sooo much fun,"_ he heard some muffled snickering, " _No, I'm not gonna ask how big his dick is, come on,_ " it sounded like she was fumbling with the phone, _"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Can you just, help us?"_

"Can you wait a second?" he asked, but he didn't wait for a response, instead fetching a note and a pen from the dinner table, returning to the phone and firmly holding it between his head and shoulder, "Tell me where you are."

 _"Ooooh, thank you, thank you, you're the beeeest, Chronoooooos!"_ the phone on the other fell down again, followed by cackling from Alex and her friend, _"We're at the 21st Street Danceteria, can you come quick, pleaaase?"_

He heard her spout some more drunken nonsense while he looked for a map. He managed to fetch one from a drawer, unfolding it and looking for the street. He found it fairly quick, and with some quick maths he calculated the trip to be about twenty-five minutes with the car. He did intend to eat his pizza, which was cooling down on the table. He jogged back to the phone, where he heard his ex crying.

"I'll be around in about half an hour, Alex," the crying became less audible

 _"Chronooooos, I thought you diiieeed,"_ she said, _"thank you soo much again for picking us up!"_ she already moved the phone away from her ear, _"See you sooon!"_ he heard the phone on the other end miss the horn.

" _Oh my God, Alex, you're soo drunk!"_ Alex' friend yelled.

" _Shut up Vera, for Christ's sa-"_ the phone was finally put on the horn and he could at last go back to his pizza and eat at least some of it. That hope was squashed in an instant when the phone rang not two seconds later. He hadn't even turned his head back to the pizza when it did, and he was reluctant to pick up the horn, fearing a drunk ex crying on the other end. He was relieved when he picked up the phone and heard something else.

 _"Hello, is this Chronos I'm speaking with?"_ it sounded like a fairly young man, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Yes, this is Chronos," he replied, "who is this?"

 _"Jonathan Hardey speaking here,"_ the voice began, _"your brother, Aaron, he's here at a party,"_ Chronos heard some screaming in the background, _"and it's safe to say he's not in the best state at the moment,"_ the screaming grew louder. It did sound like Aaron, _"if you wouldn't mind, could you pick him up?"_ porcelain was smashed in the background, _"He's going to rack up quite a debt to me if he keeps breaking things."_

"Yeah, no problem," Chronos said, who was already snatching the map from a desk nearby, "just tell me where you are."

 _"We're at 21st street,"_ Jonathan told him. It was convenient Aaron left behind the Challenger and was close to Alex, _"I'll be waiting outside with him when you come. Can you guess when you'll be here?"_ he heard some thumps in the background.

Chronos was thankful he'd been thrown a bone by God, "About twenty-five minutes, half an hour," he looked at his pizza, still hot enough to enjoy, "You'll be waiting with him?"

 _"Yeah, no worries,"_ Jonathan said, _"See you then, Chronos,"_ this time, the phone was put on the horn without a hitch, and the dragon did the same, deciding to abandon his pizza for the moment to get this all out of the way. He tossed away the map and marched to his bedroom, cobbled together an outfit, styled his hair, brushed his teeth and tied his shoes before practically dragging himself to the car, keys whipped out of a drawer from a cupboard in the garage. He opened the garage door and threw himself on the leather seat of the car and conveniently found a couple of cigars on the passengers side.

He adjusted the mirrors and let the engine rumble and warm up. The snowing outside left a thick layer of white on the streets and he had to take care to not slip in the bends. It's good that the V8 was so fantastic to listen to as he drove out of the garage. He did close the garage door before going out; he wouldn't want his pizza stolen.

* * *

"Oh my Good, Alex," Vera whined, hugging herself in a thick wool coat, "It's _sooooo_ cold!"

"Yes, I know, Vera," Alex said, who was herself shivering in a winter coat, "but Chronos is gonna be here soon, and I don't want him to be even more pissed," she blew some breath in her hands to warm them up, "I bet a Coke he's gonna have a scrunched nose when he gets here."

The mahogany-haired woman was exceptionally good at sobering up when her ex-boyfriend would show up, whether it was at her birthday parties or on occasions such as this. Maybe she was still embarrassed to be around him, but at least it looked like he wasn't most of the time.

" _Aleeeex_ ," Vera was very persistent in annoying her friend, "I wanna go _hooomee_!"

"Vera, I swear to my unborn son, if you don't shut it, I'll leave you behind!" she threatened, which the black woman did not take in stride.

"But I have a _daaate_!" she almost cried, "and I can't look like this!" she gestured at herself, and to be honest, she didn't look all too bad, just tired.

"I geeet it!" Alex wasn't entirely sober yet, "Chronos is going to be here any moment now, and you can go home, and I can go home, and nobody's going to cry any more."

The dark-haired beauty did finally learn to just keep herself quiet while they waited for the dragon to pick them up. Indeed, after some time, they saw a familiar Dodge rolling up to the curb with the passenger seat window rolled down to reveal Chronos in a slick nice sleeveless suit, smoking a cigar, which was almost done for, his nose scrunched and the interior a bit foggy from the smoke. She didn't spot the aviators yet, but she assumed they were somewhere secret, waiting to be whipped out.

"Hey, Chronos," Alex said, "sorry for calling you, but you're the only one whose number I've remembered."

"No worries," he said and he gestured them to hop into the back seats, "gotta pick someone else up too, though," Chronos himself stepped out of the car, "you stay put right here."

The two girls took the back seat while the big man went out to pick up his third passenger. The girls talked about their colleges- Vera was studying physics, Alex was studying biology- and some about their personal favourite make-up, to which they both agreed that neither one of them was too fond of it. They spent an unexpectedly short minute just sitting when they saw someone strolling down the side-walk with another man slung around his shoulder. One was obviously Chronos, the other was unmistakeably his brother.

He tossed his half-conscious blood relative into the passenger's seat before walking around and plopping his own behind in the driver's seat, adjusting the mirrors slightly before driving away at a moderate pace. The trip was mostly filled with Vera drunkenly longing for her bed while Alex talked her down constantly. Aaron was just snoring for the most part.

"Gooood, you know what I just realised right now?" Vera started, "Chronos' face is like, reallyyy _weird_ ," the dragon stared into the rear view mirror to see Vera swaying from side to side.

"Yes, his face isn't traditional," Alex nuanced it a bit, "but what is inside is important."

"At least he's tanned and buff," this girl wasn't a think, then speak kind of girl, "Did you go on vacation or something? Because no one is that tanned from being around the city."

The big man answered, "Me and Aaron and my parents went to the Bahamas for a month or so," he made sure to keep his eyes on the road, which was becoming more difficult because of the intensifying snowstorm, "I had to leave halfway through, though. I fell ill," he looked at Aaron, who was peacefully sleeping in his chair, "Aaron stayed all month."

"Yeah, he's got like, double your tan," Alex said, "I wonder what your parents look like," Chronos was quick to answer.

"Not as tanned," he told the girls, "they spent a lot of time reading," he smiled, "they gained a few pounds, though."

The girls gave a chuckle and after that, the ride went fairly smoothly. After fifteen minutes, they arrived at Chronos' house. It was easier to drop of an unconscious man early than keep his brother snoring next to him in the car. He dragged his brother out of the car, which made him realise the snowstorm had grown so bad that he could barely see the door fifteen feet in front of him. With so little vision, he imagined driving a rather well-maintained car would result in a wreck, so when he dropped Aaron into his bed and went back outside, he did so through the garage door.

He stepped inside of his car and reared the vehicle in the garage, which bamboozled the girls. Chronos swiftly explained what he was going to do.

"Look, ladies, with the way the snowstorm's shaping up outside, I don't plan to turn this car into a block of iron," he looked over his shoulder, "so you two are staying here to sleep out that drunkenness."

"Noooooo," Vera whined, although it was more like a whisper, "but I have a date tomorrow."

"I'll bring you home, don't worry," Chronos said, which apparently was good enough for the black woman to calmly step out of the car. The dragon was happy that it wouldn't be a ten minute struggle to get her to rest, "you can stay in my parents' room, down the living room, up the stairs, second door on the right."

Vera walked to the stairs while the mahogany-haired girl stayed behind. He looked at her in confusion before she spoke.

"Can I, uuh, sleep in your bed?" Alex asked, "Vera's going to keep me up all night, and I'd rather stay somewhere familiar," he gave her a frown.

"No funny stuff?" he asked.

"No funny stuff," she agreed.

He thought about it for a second before speaking, "Sure," that was all. She gave a warm smile before heading to his room, and he himself waited a minute or two before heading up himself. He was happy he could get to bed a lot earlier than expected, but he was disappointed by one thing; his pizza had gone cold.

* * *

Kitana was tracing the edge of the glass with her fingernail, waiting for him to finish his story. Often times, he referred to a thing she had no connection to, like a Danceteria or a Challenger, but she listened regardless of the unfamiliarity of terms. His voice was quite enjoyable to listen to, even if his face was, as the girl in his story had put it, pretty weird, or maybe the face and voice fit together in some way. She was a bit perplexed by one thing however, which she would ask him another time. When he did finish, he looked to his now empty plate, a melancholic stare in his eyes.

"It's one thing I remember," he said, "but maybe I'll tell you more some other time," he looked back up at her, "if you want. If you care."

She replied, "Well, it gives me just a bit more insight on you," she said, "I'd like to know more," she stood up, "another time. I have duties to attend to soon, and it may be better to continue some time else, some place else," she turned to leave, "and besides, we have our training sessions in the morning to catch up," she had a fleeting question to ask, "do you still train the others at the Academy? With training me, I assume your schedule is quite busy.

"Jade's recovered again, so that burden has been relieved from my shoulders," he rolled his shoulders, "Maybe it's for the best. I'm not the guy you should be giving responsibility to. Me, I like being just a man."

"A shame, I like your teaching," she was absolutely sincere for once, "and I look forward to sparring again. We have the time."

"I suppose," he said, rolling around his empty pint, "we have all the time in the world," he stared in her eyes to see whether she picked up what he meant. Her eyes widened a bit before returning to a relaxed state.

"Plenty time, right?" she asked, and her voice grew a bit thick.

"See you tomorrow morning," he said before the conversation would devolve into a crying contest. She left him to his own in the booth to ponder his own thoughts, which were none at this point. His mind was empty, and for now, he liked it that way.

* * *

hit or miss, I guess they never miss huh

Back from a short cryostasis to release another chapter into the world. No epic fight scene or lemon yet, those are currently in development as season pass exclusive expansions. As always, hit that fat yeet on the favourite and follow and leave a review behind to tell me how trash I am for not updating every living nine seconds of my life

\- The 0 Degrees Kelvin Man


	9. I-IX: Deathless

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter IX**

 **Deathless**

* * *

The small window in his study betrayed the youth of the morning, rays casting a soft red light on his parchment. His quill had run dry and he carefully dipped it in his bottle of ink, his old white and violet helmet comfortable sitting next to it on his desk. He resumed his writing, turning his helmet from side to side to ensure he caught all imperfections. He wanted to be sure that the buyer wasn't going to bail on a purchase because of technicalities. He heard the door behind him creak, and the sound of heels tapping on hardwood floor didn't manage to spoil his focus. The green-eyed woman walked to the right of him and snatched his helmet from the table.

She let her long nails rapidly tap on the cool metallic headgear, "Finally selling your old armour, Tau'Gir?" she asked, twirling the helmet around in her palms, "I remember you saying a couple years ago about how its sentimental value was too much to be able to part with it," she set the helmet back down carefully.

He dipped his quill in ink again, "It is for that exact same reason I am relinquishing it," he rubbed the tan-line on his finger, "It is better off I the hands of an individual that will utilise it for its intended purpose," he grabbed the helmet with one hand and peered inside of it, "instead of gathering dust in my display for many eons to come," he set the helmet down, "and as far as I am informed, my set of armour is the last one known to be in such a prime condition."

Aszara walked over to the display, the set of faded white armour perched neatly on the mannequin, still having an eternal faint shine to it, "It's a shame, I like the way it looks," she traced the edge of one of the pauldrons, "well, without blood splatters on it, you know," she eyed the gemstone dead centre in the chestplate, "Must be expensive too, with all the materials it's made of."

He walked beside her and placed the helmet back on the mannequin, "A total of fifty-six thousand and four hundred gold for this usable set," he detached the shield from the mannequin, admiring the dragon crest on it, "It was worth much more in its prime, and _much_ more during the Ninth's Knights existence," he walked back to his desk and set the shield on it, Tau'Gir taking his seat to continue his writing, "The interested buyer wanted this set for a lower price, but with some creative haggling and an emotional reprise of my life as a soldier, he relented and accepted the trade," he inspected the shield for scratches and dents, "Suffice to say, I am quite happy with the agreed upon price."

The dark blonde trounced around the room with a steady gait, "Its a nice retirement fund," she happened to come on his to-do list for today, _'Always as organised as ever,'_ thought, and she picked it up to read his chores for today, _"_ _1: Finalise sale of Knight set,"_ obviously, _"2: Purchase thornblush tea,"_ a bit of spice in his life, _"3: Pick up Umbraen's Collection of Short Stories,"_ Umbraen was old and under-appreciated in his time, no wonder Tau'Gir liked it _, "4: Start physical evaluation of pupils,"_ the last one was odd, "Hey, Tau'Gir," the grey-haired man turned to face her, "You haven't started the physical tests yet?" he shook his head, "How come?" she asked while she placed the note of chores back on the windowsill.

He picked up the shield and marched back to the mannequin, "With the arrival of both Chronos and Ariana, I had to ensure their administration was in order," the grey-eyed man said as he placed the shield back in the display, "which delayed some of my other duties to a later date," he turned to see Aszara staring out the window, "if you had read some further, I also have to start their psychological analysis soon," he stood next to her now, mimicking her stare, "I suppose I will have to do both of them back to back to save time," she coughed a bit, "Something humorous, overseer?"

"Nothing," she said, "but I always forget your practical efficiency," he opened his mouth to say something, but the green-eyed woman was ahead of him, "Don't worry, I won't forget that time you made our local stock of ale more potent," she looked up to the skies outside, clouds peacefully floating towards the rising sun, "By the Gods, Jade didn't know what happened to her," she let a modest laugh escape her lips, while Tau'Gir remained as stoic as ever. She looked back to the streets to find herself spotting the main road filled with Edenian soldiers marching in tandem, their halberds raised high, and her smile grew into a grimace, "Looks like the Mistmarch's over," she spared a sideways glance over to the old knight, who was already moving to go towards the endless stream of soldiers.

They left the main compound and spotted the dragon training in the courtyard, throwing about some fireballs to nowhere in particular. In turn, Chronos spotted them meandering in his direction, "Morning, overseers," he waved a hand at the pair, "Why are you up so early? I thought being up so soon was only something I did," they didn't stop to talk to him, but Aszara gestured him to walk with. The front gates opened on cue, and Chronos noticed the grimaces on both the overseer's faces, "Guess I missed something," Tau'Gir turned his gaze towards the massive man.

"The Mistmarch is over," the overseer told him, and that was all the Earthrealmer needed to get the gravity of the situation. Surely enough, when the came upon the caravan of soldiers, accompanied by carriages with large covers draped over them, it was clear that the foreign soldiers made the victory of price a steep one to pay. The covers didn't hide the stray hand hanging about, bloodied and pale, still closed like a fist gripping its phantom sword. The trio of the Academy approached one of the male lieutenants, who clasped his banged-up helmet in his left arm, showing his scarred face and greasy hair.

Aszara was the one to ask, "Apologies, good sir, but can you inform me of Kilamon's location?"

"Most certainly," the lieutenant pointed to the palace, "he's gone off to inform the Royal Family," he stared at his dented helmet, "he's already told a lot of families the bad news," the overseer noticed the helmet didn't fit the lieutenant, but didn't want to pry further.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you," she looked at the helmet, then back at the lieutenant, "I'm… sorry," the young man gave her a quick glance and a faint smile before sighing, jogging to catch up with the other soldiers. Aszara walked back to Tau'Gir and Chronos, who seemed to stare at the caravan of soldiers, "Kilamon's up at the palace, so better make sure your shoes fit like a glove," she looked at the stairs to the palace, "I hope the atmosphere there isn't more grim than it is here."

They took a brisk pace towards the palace, happening on sights none of them had hoped to see so close to the last tournament. Shops that are supposed to be filled with fresh-baked pies and loaves of sweet honey bread have their doors shut firm, soldiers with condolences hesitating to knock on the doors of residences, widows on the porches of their homes either sobbing or maintaining a thousand-yard stare. It was all a sobering, depressing experience.

Aszara looked at the grey-haired overseer, "Guess this is why you retired," she said, and Tau'Gir did nothing but turn his head ever so slightly. They ascended the palace stairs and passed by the guards, who all stood straight, shield and sword close to their bodies. The trio entered the palace and approached the doorway to the throne room, from which a lot of shouting was heard. Tau'Gir gestured for the dragon and the female overseer to stand just outside to eavesdrop.

" _There was nothing I could do!"_ Kilamon's shouts were one of anger, not of shifting blame, _"If I had sacrificed more soldiers, we would have had even less for the impending war with Outworld!"_ there was a pause, _"I am not willing to throw away more lives for a vendetta that has no purpose!"_

A fist slammed down on the throne, _"Protecting the lives of the innocent is not a cause worth fighting for?!"_ Jerrod was absolutely livid, _"Protecting the fathers and mothers of now and tomorrow is an impossible goal to achieve?!"_ something was tossed around, _"You gave up farms and cities with men, women and children inside just to save your own life?!"_

They heard stomping towards the throne, _"If there's anything the March will not do, it is harm the defenceless and the innocent,"_ someone scoffed, _"We evacuated as many civilians as possible, I didn't just throw people to the hounds because my life was on the line,"_ another pause, _"I have stood diligently as command against the Mistmarch, did as best as me and the men under my command could, but I will not stand for you accusing me of cowardice in the face of_ _danger and death,"_ a table was flipped over, silver and porcelain crashing to the marble floor, _"That is a disservice not just to me, but to all the brave men and women who stood on the front lines to fight against an enemy blessed by the gods of war themselves,"_ someone stood up from their seat, _"If anyone has more issues they would like to relay to me, do it in private. This exchange is_ **o** **ve** **r** _."_

The trio eavesdropping all gave each other a worried look, right before Kilamon came barging into the hallway with the Queen trailing behind. Before any of them said a word, the mammoth beckoned them over, and not a long while later, they found themselves in the palace's garden, with the servants and guards ordered away by the Queen. The overseer was trouncing in an oval while the Queen took a seat near one of the flower basins.

Chronos was the first to speak up, "That conversation didn't go over well, did it?" an obvious, but necessary question, to which Kilamon responded with fire in his voice.

"My Queen, can you not agree your husband overstepped his boundaries in insinuating me to be a traitor to the city I have spent so much time serving? To be a coward for valuing my men's lives over _victory_?!" that last sentence was accompanied with a break in his voice.

The Queen kept herself composed, "I understand your anger, but do understand the King's predicament," she straightened out her hair, "The kingdoms deny him support in fending off the Mistmarch and the Mortal Kombat tournament is another factor he has to consider when making strategic decisions," Kilamon wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"The kingdoms deny Jerrod his request because he himself upholds deals heavily favoured for this city," he paced faster, "They do it not just out of principle, but because none of the smaller kingdoms have any kind of resources to spare, be it weapons or men," the overseer continued with vigour, "While I sympathise with Jerrod and his predicament, that does not give him an excuse to divert blame from himself upon those that stand on the field and war, fighting tooth and nail to keep our lands free," Kilamon turned to the trio, who stood silently, "What do you feel? Should I have wasted more lives to ensure the freedom of our lands?"

"Kilamon, you're asking the wrong person," Chronos said, "I don't have a mind for war."

Aszara chimed in, "Yeah, look, I understand you want us to say 'Good job, here's a medal!' or something, but I'd be lying if I said it," she sighed, "I only have a degree in Theoretical and Applied Pyromancy, don't ask me about war."

Kilamon turned to Tau'Gir for an answer, "And what about you?" the fire in his voice had turned to smoulder, "Do you think I did the right thing?"

The grey-haired overseer took a second to formulate an answer, "Could you have kept territory at the cost of the lives of soldiers?" Kilamon nodded weakly, like he wasn't sure of it, "Then I say you made the wrong decision," the mammoth straightened out his back and puffed out his chest in barely contained anger, "An understandable, but mistaken decision."

Kilamon had nothing else to say to them without seguing into physical violence so he turned to leave, just barely avoiding planting Jade back first into the ground, who had followed them to the garden. She wanted to stop him, but he murmured, _"Out of my way,"_ like an angered, defeated man. Just before he left, he punched one of the pillars with so much force it dislodged a chunk of marble. The ebony bodyguard joined the four people now awkwardly shuffling about with their hands and feet.

"I can deduce the conversation went as smooth here as it went back at the throne room," she said, but Aszara was quick to object.

"Hey, blame the pencil pusher over her," she pointed at Tau'Gir, "I didn't tell him that he did the wrong thing."

"I lied," the admirer of arts intervened before the female overseer could go on a rant, "Kilamon needs to vent his anger now, and he should vent it with words, not fists," he crossed his arms, "and it may be better for all of you to make sure he doesn't march up to the King himself and tears him apart, verbally or physically."

Jade had her own two ruby koins to spare, "While I admire your reasoning, it might have been more helpful to say that you didn't know," she shifted her weight from one leg to another, "because right now, he's more liable to off himself than anyone else," she said, to which Tau'Gir only shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, I think I'm not supposed to be part of these affairs, so I'll just leave everyone to figure it out by themselves," he went to leave, "but do make sure to inform me about what happens. I don't want to get my face caved in for saying something in shouldn't."

The Queen gave a nod of approval, "I am sure your peers will keep you informed," she said, looking at the overseers, "Before you leave, I should tell you your training with my daughter has been postponed," she awaited a response from the dragon, which came in the form of a nod, "Very well. I wish you well today."

Chronos gave a quick farewell nod to hiss companions, who returned the gesture. He left the garden and headed straight for the front doors, passing by the stray servant strutting about the hallways. He reached the marble bridge over the valley beneath and saw the big mammoth standing on it, leaning on the railing, staring into the young sun. The brown-haired colossus came to stand next to him, and Kilamon acknowledged his response with a sideways glimpse.

"You feeling better?" it was a menial question, but it was enough to get the mammoth to talk.

"More calm, but not better," he flexed his fingers, "My knuckles have seen better days, however," he heard a small chuckle from Chronos, "It's been… a long couple months," he looked at the dragon, who joined him leaning on the railing, "And each time, the fight grows more dire."

The tall man looked at Kilamon, "How so?"

The mammoth straightened his posture a bit, "The Mistmarch is growing stronger every day, their presence more apparent every time they raid our coasts," he rolled his shoulders, "And with the tournament so soon, it all compounds into a rather stressful time. For everyone."

"I could see why," the dragon said, "but your equals seem less worried about it all."

"You are mistaken," the mammoth said, "but I could see why you would think so. Their concerns are more local, with the Academy taking up much more of their active time than, say, designing counter-strategies to foreign forces or juggling rations between divisions," he stopped leaning on the railing, "Jade has proven to create a couple of interesting strategies herself. She might grow to be a formidable commander herself," Kilamon walked towards the stairs with the dragon in tow.

Chronos took cautious steps down the stairs, "You think the blueberry Princess would even let her go?" he was losing his balance all the time, "Who'd she have to bitch to when someone wrongs her in the slightest?" the mammoth gave a quick huff.

"An amusing thought, seeing the heir rant to thin air," he replied, "but I can tell by the tone you are not convinced by your own words."

"Ah, just throwing a little shade her way," the dragon said, "we've been getting along a lot better in the last few months while you were gone," he almost lost his balance descending the stairs, "She's not made out of stone, but she makes it hard to not make it look that way."

Kilamon looked at his companion, "So it is all a façade then?" they reached the bottom of the stairs, "A curtain to hide the set behind?"

"That's the gist of it," Chronos replied, "but don't mention it to her."

The mammoth crossed his heart, "Upon my honour, your secret lies safe with me," he chuckled, "as much of a secret it is at this point."

The taller man waved the comment away, "I doubt anyone else is just prancing around telling the world how vulnerable and frail the Princess is because I said so," he thought about it, "Maybe Aszara would. As a joke, I bet."

"Aszara would never petty enough to do so," Kilamon said, "and besides, she would never take the initiative to spite the Princess in such a way," they passed a small group of Edenian soldiers marching about, "plausible denial of involvement and all that," the mammoth rolled his shoulders, "or just too lazy to plan and execute something like it."

The pair reached the front of the gates of the Academy, "Or maybe she isn't sober enough," the mammoth laughed at the remark, "she's a local brewmaster."

"Of all the possibilities, yours is likely closest to the truth," the gates opened and they entered the courtyard, "Something else is on my mind, something I've been forgetting to ask you," Chronos gave a small nod, signalling Kilamon to go ahead, "Have you had issues with your developing powers?" the dragon raised an eyebrow at the question, "I've been gone for quite some time, and you possess the aptitude to stir up a conflict every month or so, and I would hate to miss one of them."

Chronos gave a smile, "No, it's all been good lately," he said, "but training that stuff is like I've not been to the gym in a long time."

"Did you not use it before you arrived here?" Kilamon asked.

"Not often, no," the dragon replied, "and not to this degree, with pillars and auras and whatnot," they stopped in front of the main building's doorway, "It's all relatively new for me."

The mammoth placed a hand on the dragon's shoulder, "Do me a favour and keep your outbursts to a minimum," he advised, "Everyone's on the edge with the storms rolling in, and your antics would worsen them," the taller man nodded, and Kilamon removed his own hand from Chronos shoulder, "For now, I'll attend to my administrative duties. I can only assume a mountain of paperwork awaits me. I'll see you around, Chronos."

The mammoth went off into one of the stairways and Chronos was left to his own devices. Maybe he'll start reading again, or keep a diary.

* * *

" _Dear tutor,_

 _unfortunately, official business will keep me from attending our session this morning. As our training has been postponed a week, I would find it regretful to delay it even further. In this note, I have included directions to a particular spot, one me and Jade have visited plenty of times before your arrival. Follow these directions when the stars dot the sky and we will continue our sparring session._

 _Your pupil, Kitana."_

Chronos turned the note around to see the directions again.

" _South-east of this city lies a gravel path that leads to a small mountain side. From there, walk north-east along the face of the rock walls and you will find the entrance to the cave. Be careful, the cavern is quite treacherous to navigate, and your stature might make it more difficult to get through. I hope to see you soon."_

They weren't awfully complicated directions- it would be an everyday walk to the hot-dog stand on the corner of the street in Paradise City- but that didn't mean he wasn't getting lost all the time. With all the walking to the palace he did these last few months, the dragon suffered from barely finding his way through any other street other than the ones he usually travels through. It did, however, give him some extra time to admire the Edenian architecture a bit more. Their white houses with purple tiled roofs were quite modest, never rising above a first floor, and their windows were always a vibrant mosaic. He wish he could get one built at home. He did feel like someone was following him through the alleys and shortcuts, but he ascribed it to his paranoia and unfamiliarity with the city.

He eventually did find the gravel path, a sparse amount of ruined pillars and thick bushes along it. He found the cave entrance within no time, cleverly hidden behind a couple of thick trees. The entrance to the cavern was, indeed, relatively small compared to his hilarious size, and Chronos was having a bit of trouble squeezing himself through the opening. Once inside, he felt a small incline coming his way, the way lit up by small luminescent flowers. He could hear the faintest of streams flowing somewhere nearby, resounding from the cavern up ahead. He slithered his way through the narrow corridors, more than once stumbling over loose pebbles in his way, fumbling around in the near-dark. After a minute or two of him scratching the palms of his hands and soles of his feet, he reached the cavern, which basically consisted of a huge space with a huge hole in the middle. The stream he heard flowing before was one that trickled right into the middle of that hole, which sounded like it ended up in an underground lake.

He noticed a small path to his right, winding up beyond another cave wall. He followed it, which lead him to a small, open spot smack dab in the middle of the mountains. The small stream came from a now proper sized waterfall with a small pond in the base of it, small puffs of steam dancing on the surface of the water. A single cherry tree stood in the space, and the rest of it was just taller than usual grass. He took a few steps forward, taking a deep breath of cool air, soaking himself in the tranquil silence of this place. The dragon then noticed some carvings in the rock next to the waterfall, but the language in the carvings were using symbols and signs Chronos couldn't recognise.

He turned his attention to the cherry tree, thick, leafy and large, and he managed to spot the sapphire heir sitting on a branch, one leg swinging front to back.

"You do make a girl wait," she said, leaping from the branch with grace and landing like a feather, "but no matter, at least we can resume our training," she was insincere about the training, and Chronos noticed.

"Well, it has been a week or so," he walked towards her, "so an extra day of not hitting each other won't do anyone any harm."

"In more ways than one," she said, moving towards the pond, unbuckling a couple of straps, "Are you not wondering why I summoned you here?" he stood there, a mute, waiting for her explanation, "As children, me and Jade would always scurry off and traverse through the city, finding a slew of nooks and crannies to worm ourselves through," she stopped unbuckling to trace the surface of the water with her fingers, "You might have deduced already this spot is one of them," she looked around, "We called it our Secret Spot, but it was not as secret as we hoped," she resumed unbuckling, which went straight into stripping down, "many star-crossed lovers finding their way to this serene, secluded spot to consummate their love and affection for each other," the princess was now down to her undergarments, which were blue, unsurprisingly, "and old friends reminiscing on simpler times."

The dragon was a little bit flustered by such a brazen show of confidence, but didn't let it show, "So what was Jade then?"

The question was difficult to answer, "In many starless nights, we were often friends," she just barely touched the warm pond with a single toe, "but on a few occasions, there would be a spark of more than that, and we would… experiment with each other," Chronos was undoing himself of his pants, not content with being outdone, "and I can only assume you would hope it to be so?"

"I'm not that perverted," he said, now also down to what constituted makeshift boxers, "but I wont say that I'm not surprised why you found comfort in an old friend's arms," he decided to dip his hand in the water. It was a comfortable warmth that enveloped his hand, "because I assume that your position didn't leave you any room to make a lot of friends."

"My education did consume the most of my time," she stole a peek at his form. She wanted to say she was admiring his asset, but she was more drawn to his inhumanly large legs, with quads so defined and large they easily out-sized her arm, "but that is not the reason my social circle is as small as it is," Chronos sunk down into the pond and a very relieved sigh left his lips. He stared at her, waiting for the story to continue, "Perhaps you have guessed already that my temper is rather… quick to show," the princess sat down in the pond as well, an arm's reach away from the dragon, "and it was difficult for me to restrain myself when I was teased."

"Teased for what?" the brown-haired man said, sinking deeper in the warm pond, "For being a rich girl?"

"I would say that's a concise summary," she replied, "but it was much more aimed at how I had privileges no one else possessed, that I would never have to worry about trying to maintain a family, that sort of thing," she looked at Chronos, who was now grazing the surface of the water with his chin, "do you think there is some truth to that?"

He shot her a look of confusion, "Why ask me?"

"You are the one whose actions have been most troublesome for me in years," she awaited his response, and it was a shrug of agreement, "so perhaps you would agree with those arguments?"

"Those children sound dumb," she smiled at his wording, "Ain't your mistake you were born rich to a royal family? What're you supposed to do, unbirth yourself?" he thought about that scenario, "Sounds fucking awful," he straightened himself out, his wet upper body now resurfacing, "No, I'd say something along the lines of you being someone who's hard to get along with."

"Funny, Jade would say the same," she cocked her head, "but I suppose being friends for almost six millennia now does allow for some criticism to slip through the cracks," she laughed, "by the Gods, I am stunned at how long it has been since those days."

"How'd she end up being your friend?" Chronos asked, "She doesn't exactly walk your walk, or talk your talk."

The sapphire heir sank a bit deeper into the water, "Did she not tell you herself?" Chronos shook his head, "Not even a passing mention?" again, he shook his head, "I feel it is not in my place to divulge personal information when the person in question is absent. It is dishonest."

"Yeah, I gotcha," he slipped back deeper into the pond, humming in delight. By God, he hadn't had a good warm bath in months, and this was an absolute godsend.

"Enjoying yourself?" he hummed in response, "I could give you something… personal, if you accept?" he gave a questioning hum, "A shoulder massage maybe?"

He gazed at her apprehensively, "Are you sure? Because that's pretty intimate."

"Haven't we got to know and appreciate each other enough during these last months?" he gave conceded nod, "Now, scoot forward so you do not squish me against the edge of the pool," the dragon complied and waded through the water while Kitana managed to position herself behind him. She was always impressed by his impressive muscular body, hypothesising just how much time it must have taken for him to achieve such a stature and size, "Now, sit straight and relax."

She started her shoulder massage, and while she noted how firm his shoulders were, Chronos began sinking away into his mind, because the blueberry woman started of on one hell of a foot with her massage, managing to knead his shoulders in just the right way. He was inclined to lean against her, but he was afraid his weight alone would cause her to be unable to breathe. For several minutes he simultaneously zoned out while also maintaining his posture. After she was done, he took a few seconds to recollect himself before turning around to face the princess.

"And?" she inquired.

"Who taught you?" he asked, and she smiled.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out," she said, inching closer to the dragon. She stared into his eyes, one now a vacant greyish, the other one a beautiful deep sea blue. It is quite a shame she blinded him in that one eye, but it did give him that old, weathered look of a retired knight, living out his days in a cosy countryside homestead, "but I surmise you'll never deduce it."

"Uhuh," he replied, also inching closer to her, "but there is something I do know," his face was now half a foot away from hers, he could see her glossy lips shining in the moonlight, "you like someone," she furrowed her brows, but also put on a smile.

"Oh, really?" he eyelids grew heavy, "And who do you think that is?" she looked into his eyes, moving ever closer to his face.

"You should look closer," he moved his hand on her thigh, "and maybe I'll tell you-" he moved his hand further up her thigh, intending to use it as a bit of support while leaning in. As he did so, he didn't feel soft lips caressing his or a silk hand cupping his cheek. It was, instead, a very powerful slap that hit him so hard across the cheek it almost managed to inflict minor whiplash, the sheer force sending him toppling over into the pond. He was in mild shock when he resurged, out of breath and with a woman profusely apologising.

"Oh, oh no, I- I am so sorry, I," she was finding it hard to form a coherent sentence, "I was anxious and- I did not mean to, but your hand, just- I, I am so terribly sorry, I-" he raised his hand, which he was unable to hold entirely still.

"No, it's fine," he said with an exhausted voice, like he had just been robbed of all energy, "I should've seen this coming," he stood up, but she was trying to stop him from doing so.

"No, please, just sit down and we can gloss over what just happened," she was pulling on his arm, "Please I- I did not mean to hit you, but I am not used to sharing these type of moments with anyone else but my best friend, but- we should- can we start over, please?" she was pleading, but he wouldn't listen.

"You should get dressed," he commanded, and his tone implied he wasn't going to get back in. He was already getting redressed.

"No, I beg of you-" one last ditch effort.

" _Kitana,"_ his voice was authoritarian now, effectively using that deep bass voice of his to convince her, "get dressed."

She accepted at last, getting up out of the pool and putting on her elaborate outfit. To her surprise, Chronos was giving her a hand.

"I thought-" the princess began, but he cut her off before speaking himself.

"Kitana, I get it, alright," he started, "it's not exactly everyday interaction between us, you're not exactly used to it, and… and I know about the tournament," her eyes were cast downward, but her lifted up her head by the chin, "You're in a rough spot, and I wouldn't want to make it worse by doing something we'll both regret. Do you get that?" she nodded, but she wasn't done talking.

"But it's not that I do not want to share such an intimate moment, it's-" once again, he cut her off. She had almost forgotten his boorish behaviour.

"It was something you wanted, I know, but it's not the right time," he said.

She was almost deterred, but not entirely, "What if there never is a right time?"

"I don't know," he said, an apologetic look adorning his face, "I'm sorry," he put on a small smirk, "Maybe we can have a tea to figure that one out."

"A tea from who?" she asked.

"Aszara," he said, and she laughed way louder than intended, and both of them relaxed because of it.

"She will serve us a special tea, no doubt," she was now wearing a beautiful smile, her pearly whites barely shining in the dead of the night, "You're right, I know, I apologise," she was making a bunch of hand gestures at the moment, "but I will ensure you give me the promised tea."

"Duly noted," he said before resuming helping the sapphire heir buckle up her outfit.

"Can I ask you one last thing?" she asked, and he signalled her to fire away, "You told me a story about your past life a while ago, and I have to ask," he looked up to her, "Why did you not use your real name?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Guess I'd rather put it all behind me as soon as possible," he didn't continue, and to prevent the atmosphere from tensing up again, she didn't press any further. Once both of them had been fully dressed, still mildly damp from the bathing session, both of them followed the path back inside the cavern, the darkness creeping up op them from the corners. He swore he heard footsteps, but he didn't see anyone in the cavern, no torches, no looming eyes from the dark, nothing. But he was still on edge and the princess felt it.

"Chronos," she grabbed his arm, "are you alright?"

"Something's not right," he said, and almost on cue, a pair of crossbow bolts shot out from the dark, one piercing the dragon's knee, the other lodged in his right upper chest. Chronos sank to one knee while Kitana whipped her fans out of thin air, but it was to no avail as she was struck by a witch bolt from somewhere in the cavern. Conscious, but unable to do anything, she could see a legion of dark-clad clan members approach from the shadows, either packing a crossbow or a sword and shield. The big man tried to stand up, but one of them, presumably their leader, his leather armour trimmed with iron, kicked him in the face, tipping him over backwards.

The witch bolt stopped electrocuting Kitana, and in no time, she was bound and gagged as the Earthrealmer was surrounded by five people, each pointing their weapon at him.

"The sweet moon light, the solitary cavern," their leader took a sniff, "ah, it's a wonderful place to commit a murder," he looked at the princess, "but you won't be alone," from the passage to the entrance, several other clan members dragged a bruised and bloodied ebony along, also bound and gagged, her eyes faint with life, "best friends forever, right?" he smirked before turning his gaze back at the now restrained dragon, "Look, you do understand this isn't anything personal? It's just my job," he tapped the side of Chronos' head, "I hope you understand. That doesn't mean I'm not going to show some showmanship. Got to have some entertainment from all this nasty business."

He paraded around a bit, beginning to conjure up a fireball to torch his target with. The princess was being held down as she tried to escape, the bodyguard was staring in a haze at the whole ordeal. The big cheese took his sweet time to assassinate Chronos, and a faint voice whispered in the dragon's head.

" _Mmmmmh..."_ it rumbled through in his head, time began slowing down, _"it seems like you find yourself in a precarious situation, good friend,"_ the voice was calm and formal, but the Earthrealmer was sure he was going to mince his words. Whoever the voice belonged to, it seemed to sense that thought, _"do not fret, I have a simple proposition for you,"_ the voice was silent for a second, _"no, not a proposition, a gift."_

The clan leader juggled some fireballs in slow motion and the disembodied voice continued.

" _As you see, the day of judgement has arrived,"_ a sudden ghostlike image walked from behind Chronos, theonly thing visible enough being a bright orange skull, with the rest of his humongous body only a faint orange shimmer, though Chronos could just barely tell the ghost wore armour, _"and the Emperor of Outworld is keen on reducing resistance when his invasion commences,"_ the ghost walked through several assassins, next to the pair of women being restrained, _"These beautiful daughters of Edenia will be used as leverage to sway the King into surrender, after which they will certainly entertain whatever guests the Emperor wishes to receive,"_ the ghost circled around the bound pair, _"it would be a tremendous shame to see them suffer,"_ the shimmer now walked in front of the dragon, kneeling to meet him at eye level, _"I cannot save you from death, but I can grant you your life back when it is stolen by these vermin,"_ the intensity of the skull's glow made him go blind, _"and thus, a chance to save a good friend, and your beloved,"_ the assassin was about to toss his fireball through the dragon's chest, incinerating his heart in the process, _"but you must let me do so,"_ all Chronos did was flare his nostrils, and the spirit took note of the subtle action.

" _I knew you would agree."_

The clan leader threw a fireball straight into the dragon's chest, melting its way through his ribs and chunks of lung, turning his heart to cinder. Kitana jumped up in despair, seeing the fleeting life of her tutor being extinguished in a couple heartbeats. The assassin strolled around his almost lifeless body before giving it a nudge into the underground lake, his corpse flailing around before disappearing into the deep water. The leader gave a quick theatrical bow before walking up to the princess with a confident strut.

"Now, I know, what's going to happen to you?" he traced the edge of her cheekbone with the outside of his hand, "You'll make fine trophies if the Emperor allows us to keep you, after we use you as a way to get your father to budge, y'know," he stroked her arm, "but it'll all be professional, I assure," he turned to some of his companions, "half of you stays here, and we'll make a gateway at our escape point. Make sure scouting parties can't get word out," the rest was summoned with him, "let's go."

They reached the entrance of the cavern, where a couple of guards stood diligently, deterring any unaware passer-by. In the dead of the night, the clan sneaked away into the forest hugging the edge of the mountains, keeping their hostages as secure as possible. Some of the magic users constantly began casting spells, detecting every living creature around the party. The two in the back seemed to be discussing something, but Kitana was more focused on her friend, who hadn't looked at the princess since their trip into the forest. The heir saw a single tear roll down the ebony's cheek, a tear of sadness and failure.

"You know, it's a shame Edenia is so lush and gorgeous," the woman said, casting her spells with one hand while keeping a torch in the other, "makes me feel kinda bad it's going to lose a lot of it."

"Don't get attached to this place," her male companion said, "we're just doing our job here."

She laughed, "I should've been an archaeologist or something," she looked up to the sky, "or an astronomer. My mother would be a lot less inclined to check up on my health," she looked back sideways, "what about you, Hadz?" her male companion was nowhere to be found, "Hadz? Hello?" she cast her life spells, but they only showed rodents scurrying about. She also cast a detect dead spell, but it showed even less.

"Maga, stop slacking and pick up your pace," one of her clan brothers yelled, and she jogged up to the group to warn them.

"Hadz is gone," she said, and another woman with black hair turned to her. She cast her detect life spell too, but didn't see anything but critters as well.

"That's odd," she signalled some of her companions, "Can you cast some light behind us? One of us has apparently lost his way, and he might just need a light to-"

 _thud_

 _thud_

 _snap_

 _thud_

It came from their right, and they wasted no time with casting their life spells, but again, nothing came up besides birds and lizards.

"We're just paranoid," one of them said, "these forests are spooky anyways."

The black haired woman turned to the can member, "Hadz didn't just up and leave because of a change of heart," she kept her torch up high, "watch yourself."

The group continued, but everyone but their clan leader kept hearing something in the forest, kept seeing a shadow in the distance, but every time, they saw nothing. They began tensing up immensely, all of them a hand on their scabbard to slash at whatever thing in the forest was prowling about. Some of them even saw a single red eye peering from the dark depths of the woods, but they kept seeing nothing. Not a revenant stalking them, not some guardian angel punishing them for their crimes, nothing of the sorts. And yet, when their eyes wandered, bushes rustled mere feet from them away, branches snapped under the weight of a predator stalking about, footsteps around them tracking their every move.

They arrived at their escape point, a decrepit and ruined watchtower in an open spot, only recognisable by a single torn Edenian banner waving in the wind. The leader began setting up a communication portal without noticing how some of his group had been lost in the woods. Nearly every single member was losing their mind, constantly checking behind them to make sure they weren't pounced by some Edenian beast. The clan leader managed to establish contact with other clan leaders.

"It's done," he said.

" _Good,"_ a pair of people on the other side, _"we're creating a gateway to your location. I see you have some additional cargo,"_ they referred to the royal duo on their knees, watched by several other assassins, _"Excellently done, Gall. As soon as you arrive, we'll…,"_ one of the clansmen was pulled into the forest, his shouts muffled by a large hand drowning his voice out, _"Gall, you said you had forty people tailing you,"_ they looked behind Gall, who himself turned around.

"I left half behind, I'm going to get a portal to-" he was cut short by one of the clan leaders on the other side.

" _There are only sixteen left,"_ indeed, when the assassin looked around, he counted six- no, _fifteen_?

"That's odd," he thought he may have taken a couple less than he left behind, "I'll ask with the ones who stayed behind when they show up," the mages casting the detect life spells only saw some critters running up trees, "Hey, can one of you create a portal to the cavern?" one of the sorcerers began creating a portal, but on the other side, the only thing that could be seen was the cavern and no one else, "Gentlemen?" he looked into the portal, but no one responded to him, " _Shit_."

From the depths of the woods, a massive lightning spear shot across the open spot, nailing the sorcerer who created the portal in the shoulder, instantly taking her out of the fight. Everyone was on alert now, but not alert enough to escape the lightning bolts snaking across the surfaces, electrocuting four of them within seconds. Gall was attempting to detect the source of the attacks, but whoever was attacking them was like a spectre hiding in plain sight. Another assassin was downed by a fireball that shattered the iron trimming on their armour.

The remaining assassins began panicking, and it was more than enough to pick them off, one by one, each of them put out of commission by a well placed lightning spear or a vicious fireball, and their assailant was keeping to the shadows. The princess and the bodyguard were roused from their dampened state by the sudden attack, and they recognised what kind of power was being flung at them, which left them in disbelief.

The portal to Outworld opened, and only Gall and a single female assassin were left, but the leader was not keen on sticking around and made a dash for the portal. The female assassin did so as well, but she was lassoed around her legs by a chain of solar energy and pulled towards the edge of the woods, where she came face to face with a dead man, now with a huge circle of fourth-degree burns on his chest and scar tissue around it. The scar tissue, as well as the scar on his eye, glowed a faint orange that flared up when the goliath frowned.

"Gall, Gall!" she yelled, but her leader had already jumped through the portal without a second thought. She was left all by her own with the beast, who was slowly marching towards her. She was crawling back, chains still around her feet, his single red eye piercing her soul, "Look, look, we- we had no choice-" she was cut off with a fierce hook to the jaw, which knocked her out cold. The dead dragon now walked to the emerald and sapphire, staring in shock at the sight before them. The portal to Outworld had closed, and only one had managed to flee the terror that mauled them.

An entire platoon of guards came running to the ruined watchtower, along with Aszara and Tau'Gir. The first thing they saw was Chronos' back, a big burn spot on it, his scar in an x-shape and glowing like a forge.

"By all the Gods, what in the realms happened here?" the female overseer was stunned at the sight of several assassins writhing in pain, "What happened to you?" she pointed at the dragon, who had just finished unbinding the royal pair.

"I died," he was blunt about it, "but I got better."

"You… died?" Tau'Gir was apprehensive, but continued, "You are awfully calm about dying and being brought back to life," Chronos only shrugged, and he was approached by the two freed ladies.

"Chronos, are you sure you are well?" Jade was concerned, he looked too cold, "We fear that you-"

"I am fine," he cut her off, but didn't go any further, "I'm going back to the Academy," he was very non-descriptive, but none of the four that were looking at him dared to keep him from leaving. That didn't stop all of them from discussing the subject.

"We should keep an eye on him," Jade said, "make sure he doesn't start torching anyone that he deems a threat."

"I'm of a mind with Jade," Aszara crossed her arms, "Tau'Gir, did you run your tests yet?"

"Not on him," he replied, "but I will make sure he takes them," he looked back at the large behemoth disappearing in the thick woods, "I do hope it doesn't take a toll on him."

Kitana looked at him, in the dark, delving into the void of the unknown woods, and she had one thing to say.

"I would like to believe so too."

* * *

china numba wan

Guess who's back? Back again?

Apologies for taking so long with chapters, i've got a severe case of attention deficiency that I should take care of. Personally dissatisfied with the ending of this chapter, but I'm not sure how to improve it without making the chapter an additional two thousand words long, so here you go. As always, toll the bell, bookmark this story or something and I'll see to it that this story is given a movie adaptation starring Jack Black.

\- The Anti-Sun Man


	10. I-X: Tyrant

**I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.**

 **Act I, Chapter X**

 **Tyrant**

* * *

She let her drink swirl around in the ornate glass, the beams of early light passing right through. Her elbow rested on the edge of the balustrade, the bottle of sweet honey alcohol placed upon a small table in the corner of the balcony. She gazed at the palace, contemplating the disastrous night before, unable to wrap her head around the surreality of it. In private, she wondered whether keeping the dragon strutting about on the grounds was a sensible option, with his penchant for drawing trouble to himself.

It had been just about six hours after the incident, and she nor anyone else had the chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with the man who managed to defy death. They had expressed concerns about his mental health after it, but considering of his less favourable traits, they let him be for the moment. She wasn't just worried for him, she was worried for anyone else who so happened to incur his wrath, which would no doubt lead to lethal casualties. They were fortunate it hadn't come to actual deaths yet.

During their walk back to the city, both the heir and her bodyguard were interrogated about what had transpired that night. The sun-kissed goddess expressed fault and regret, blaming herself for the dragon and princess being caught off-guard. She followed them to ensure their safety, but it lead to the assassins finding them. The pencil-pusher comforted the ebony Edenian, telling her that the assassins would have found them regardless and used her capture to cast doubt over her. The sapphire woman comforted her as well, keeping her from blaming herself. At the very least, many of the perpetrators were caught, some of the unconscious clansmen leading the troops to the ruins like crumbs.

The overseer had emptied her glass of her drink and reached for the bottle but only grasped thin air. She looked at the table to find it empty, but the overseer heard someone else pouring a glass. The blonde turned around to see the largest man on the grounds pour one out for himself, in quite a grand mug too. She expected the dragon to just let it all slide down his throat and pour a second one, but he was unexpectedly frugal with his drink. He walked around her to set down the bottle where it was before taking a humble swig from his mug.

Aszara was careful when she spoke, "Didn't get much sleep I suppose?" he grunted in response, "Makes two of us, I guess," she looked over to him, but the burly male spared her no glance. She took the bottle and poured another glass, "You know, the two royal Edenian ladies were worried about you. Maybe you should-" she was startled when he moved towards her in a flash.

"Aszara, quit pussyfooting around it and ask me the fucking question," even for him, such abrasiveness was unusual.

She put her drink down on the small table, "Are you sure you feel fine? Because, you know, dying, coming back to life, it seems like a traumatic experience. Gods, I wouldn't like it when something like this happens."

The Earthrealmer distanced himself a tad bit, "I feel fine," he said, through gritted teeth. She was stupid to continue asking, but abrasiveness begets abrasiveness.

"Yeah, and I'm the best dragon-rider in all of the major realms," his visage worsened, "Quit lying to me and actually tell me what you're thinking right now."

"I'm thinking I should whop you on the top of your head," he straightened out, but the overseer wasn't letting herself be intimidated just yet.

"That's a tall tale to tell me, and you sure as hell wouldn't have just stood there like some village idiot just telling me you're gonna cave my face in unless you're actually going to do it," his scowl worsened, "So I'm going to ask you again, and you'd better give me a straight answer," she walked up into his face without fear, "How do you really feel?"

He bared his teeth and furrowed his brows, his face now almost a hair's breadth away, but her own stare matched his and he finally relented when he turned his eyes to the palace in the distance. His head sunk lower, a long, slow breath escaping his lips, "I don't feel so good," in by far the most timid and hapless tone he could have conjured up.

The blonde softened her expression and approached him, "Look, I'm not putting you through the ringer because I'm the bitch queen of the universe," he spared her a quick glance, "It's because every time you pop off, something drastic happens," she began counting on her fingers, "Beating up royalty, exploding in a pillar of light, beating up royalty _again_ , beating up royalty _again still_ , then getting murdered and resurrected in a night and trampling a band of assassins," she looked at Chronos, who looked like he was playing back the memories in his head, "You have a damn good knack for making people's lives a lot harder, for friend and foe alike."

He turned to look at the green-eyed overseer, whose steadfast look had transformed into a worried one, "I get that," his tone conveyed frustration without target, "but I can't help it. For God's sake, I don't even know how it works."

The overseer put her hand on his shoulder, "I can't help you with it, but somebody else might," the dragon hummed in agreement. She reached for her glass and downed whatever was left in one big swig, "Look, I have to meet with the rest to see what they have to say about it," she walked to the doorway, "in the meanwhile, you should see Caine again, for a stamina elixir, because it looks like you're about to topple over."

The brown-haired man faced her, "Yeah, I guess I could use a little energy boost," he turned to the rising sun, "I just need a bit more fresh air before I go."

"Yeah, no worries," Aszara said, standing in the doorway, "I hope you're feeling better by the end of the day."

With a small hum from the dragon, she left to go and see the old soldier, no doubt cooped up in his study. A few stairs and corridors later, she arrived at the door, giving it a couple of gentle knocks before trying to barge in.

"Come in," the pencil-pusher said. Aszara opened the door to see him tending to a large stack of parchment, which would no doubt be the results of the psychological and physical tests he had ran on the pupils, "I'm almost finished."

"Working overtime?" she asked, but he shook his head, "So what are the results?"

"Many of them are standard," he began, "basic psychological stability, no anomalies to be found in many of them," he flipped through the parchment, "physical tests also show standard arcane presence with minor outliers, as well as standard physical prowess regarding bone and muscle density."

The female overseer crossed her arms over her ample chest, "Uhuh, and where's our local orphan from another world in that stack?" she got an answer in the form of Tau'Gir shuffling around some utensils and fetching what looked like unprocessed results from the tests. He handed them over to the blonde, who began scanning through them, picking out whatever data was unusual. After a minute or two, she perched the results back on his desk, "Those aren't botched results?" Tau'Gir shook his head, "You should do them again any-ways. With last night's altercation, I doubt his arcane levels are that low."

"I was planning on doing so," the male overseer agreed, "but I doubt he's willing to go through it again. He will suspect our desire to discover the veracity of the results immediately."

"Don't sweat it," she gave him a tap on the shoulder, "he's looking for ways to get a grip on all the shit he's dragging around."

"Perhaps it is best then I ask him within the hour," he stood up from his chair, "the process is quite long, so I hope I can convince him to spare the time today," he picked up the stack of parchment and neatly organised it again, "Do you happen to know where he is?"

"He's at Caine now, getting a little pep-up drink," she said, "might catch them having a warm conversation."

"The old, solitary apothecary and the brutish foreigner? I doubt so," he walked towards the door, "Is there anything else I should know?"

She ran her hands across whatever she could find on his desk, "I'm gathering everyone for an impromptu meeting in about two hours. The royal double trouble and the rest of the overseers probably want to share a piece of their mind too," she walked to the doorway, "Can I expect you at the palace in two hours?"

"I will attend," he said, "I hope I can finish my tests with Chronos in time to be punctual."

"Don't worry, we'll leave some tea for you to enjoy if you're late," she bumped him on the chest with the flat of her hand before walking down the stairs, with Tau'Gir following suit, "Chronos was at Caine, getting a pick-me-up. He might still be there if you're lucky," the female overseer said, with Tau'Gir giving a nod, before their paths split outside, with Aszara heading to the palace, where the ebony and her friend were staying, while the soldier took a turn towards the apothecary. He was always in awe at the architectural dissonance between the sleeping barracks and the apothecary's residence, clean, white marble with purple roof tiles clashing with what was akin to a witch hut in the swamp.

He barged through the door, some horrid stench protruding his nostrils without mercy the moment he stepped foot in the house. He found that, indeed, the dragon was still here, waiting at the counter to get his elixir of rejuvenation, or whatever name the masked man could cook up. The behemoth spared a fraction of a glance to see who came inside before turning back to the door Caine walked through, holding a small vial with blue liquid.

"Took me quite a bit to mix," the apothecary said, "higher dose for your much more intimidating size," a couple of birds flew through the door the cloaked man came through, "do keep in mind, only half the vial for today. The rest can be stashed away for when you need it again," the male overseer looked at the birds, one blue, one violet with a cracked beak, "Tau'Gir, have you come for an elixir as well?"

"No, I sought our companion here for additional testing," he explained, "and I have been invited to an impromptu meeting, so forgive my urgency when I say I must take Chronos to the analysing chambers right now."

"I haven't been invited to this meeting?" he propped his head underneath his chin, "Such a shame. I might have been of some use regarding our companion's current state."

"Not to offend, but you have nothing to add to the issue," the soldier said, with his conversation partner giving a chuckle.

"Ah, no offence taken, of course," he said, "I will not press, but it is your loss."

"We will survive," Tau'Gir said, beckoning the dragon to following him, but not before the masked man had the last word.

"You should have also considered some fragrance, dragon," he said, "You reek of death."

"Noted," the soldier retorted while dragging the goliath with him. Outside, the male overseer saw the brown-haired Earthrealmer stare in anticipation, waiting for the soldier to talk, "You know why we're performing the tests again?"

"Enlighten me," he responded. The grey-hair had no intentions of hiding the reason.

"Current results may not reflect your arcane levels proper," he started, "Your resurrection, coupled with your increasing comfort in employing your powers, has given ample reason to re-evaluate your current condition," the old soldier took a look at the dragon, who was waiting for more, "As you may also know, we are concerned for your mental health, and the tests may lay our concerns to rest."

Chronos huffed, "Or confirm them."

"True, it might worsen the situation," Tau'Gir agreed, "but I have no doubt we can assist you in your recovery."

"With what time?" Chronos asked, but the soldier sensed that the question was rhetoric.

"With whatever time we have to spare," the overseer said. They had arrived at the testing chambers and Chronos took no time settling himself in one of the seats. Tau'Gir fetched the scrolls used to analyse the subjects from a closet, chanting old Edenian.

" _Ab'r ain Vellir, zu'eil as Saien,"_ the soldier turned to Chronos, "As said before, the tests can take up to an hour in total," he moved onto the next scroll, "So do make yourself comfortable."

* * *

The meeting room was a dusty, gloomy place, thick cobwebs adorning the corners of the room, magic lanterns casting a dirty white light. The female overseer tapped her fingers on the small, but sufficient enough table, with only one person in the room pacing around them. The rest, which included the bodyguard, the mammoth and, in an unusual surprise, the queen as well, were seated on poorly maintained chairs. The princess' restless legs carried her from person to person, each of them varyingly uneasy with the clacking of her heels.

"Your Highness, please take a seat," the ebony vixen pleaded, her wounds healed up nicely by the healers, "your pacing is not going to accelerate the arrival of our missing companion."

"It is the only way to keep me awake as of now," she said, "I lost too much sleep concerning last night's event, and I surmise this meeting concerns that topic."

"You're right on the money, sweetheart," Aszara said, "which is why we have to wait on Tau'Gir. He's not one to slouch when it comes to data, and I'm sure he isn't skimping on the tests. If we want to say anything useful, we gotta wait for a minute or two."

"I do wish we were seated elsewhere," Kilamon bemoaned, "It is quite a depressing room."

"It has not been used in several decades, Kilamon," Sindel explained, "and with strained relationship between our kingdom and other smaller counties, our audiences have decreased tremendously. Besides that, the establishment we convene with prince Rain is more presentable than this room."

Kilamon nodded, and the blonde spoke again, "How's that going still? I heard the purple idiot is still threatening military action."

"He has currently cut off contact between himself and us," the queen said, "Perhaps he is occupied with organising his military for the upcoming war."

The blue-clad princess snapped quickly, " _Possible_ upcoming war."

"Yes, possible," someone said, standing in the doorway, some parchment in his hands, "but most likely, considering the data and predictions."

"Did you only show up to dampen everyone spirits?" the sapphire heir ridiculed.

"No, because they are already dampened," the grey-hair replied, "However, that does not mean I have uplifting news," he tossed the parchment to the female overseer, who didn't wait a second to look over the data, "I have reran my tests two times, which is why my delay was longer than anticipated. The results accrued from these tests-"

Aszara, who had a drink ready, immediately spit it out in wide-eyed shock, "Motherf- no way?!" she kept flipping through the pieces of paper, only to pass it onto the woman in green, who also adorned a dour face when she carefully read through the tests. This same face remained pasted on the rest of the attendees, save for the mammoth, whose only indicator of shock was a slight posture shift, "Those are the results? No forging, no fiddling around, no-"

Tau'Gir was quick to shut her off, "I have reran the tests thrice over, each time nullifying whatever variables may have thrown off the results," he was handed back the parchment by the princess, who looked by far the most worried of them all, "These are the final, definitive results."

A small clear of the throat preceded Jade's own thoughts, "But these results are… _surreal_ ," she leaned back in her chair, "Four times the muscle density of a peak Edenian warrior is obscene, let alone his arcane levels which rivals arch-mages."

"But what does it mean?" the queen asked, something that was on everyone mind at the moment. Tau'Gir decided to put it in as concrete, impactful way he could.

"His psychological and physical results, which include increased testosterone and adrenaline levels, much higher muscle and bone density and an observed propensity to violence, coupled with exceptional arcane presence and empirical evidence displayed by his actions prior to these tests, have made me come to no other conclusion than that this man's strength comes not just from rigorous training, but an inherent and engineered superior mind and body, designed to fight and destroy."

"But he has grown tired, has been beaten before," Jade remarked, "How so?"

"A self-imposed psychological barrier which may stem from whatever training he performs," the overseer elaborated, "or perhaps from psychological trauma. I have yet to discern whichever one is true."

Sindel's gloomy tone worsened the mood, "That may never be an option."

"How so?" the mammoth asked.

She took a deep breath before continuing, "With the recent near-kidnapping of his daughter, Jerrod has issued that Chronos accompanies Kilamon to Outworld for the end of the Mortal Kombat tournament."

"But why?" Aszara inquired, "He's been marked, Edenian law states he cannot represent Edenia, especially when he has no chance to gain any rights."

"I believe our esteemed King may be doing what the Mark intends to do," Kilamon began, "To indicate those destined for death. And the boy is next," the princess was almost at the doorway when Kilamon stopped her, "And what do you plan to do, Your Highness?"

"Change my father's mind," she said to him as he was holding her arm, "Chronos is the one who saved me from the nightmares the Emperor's men could have inflicted upon me."

"Saved from a fate Jerrod believes the dragon himself created," Kilamon said, "As much evidence our King is presented, as much times your own actions put yourself in danger, Jerrod is your father and you are his daughter, and his concern is your safety," he let go of Kitana, who was no longer attempting to move, "Whether or not Chronos is at fault is not something I can rationally comment on, but I will stand in defence of our King, even if he does not stand in defence of me," Kitana threw the mammoth a disappointed look, "Losing a daughter is not just something you shrug off. You and Sindel are worth more than every treasure in the world, and he wouldn't trade it for anything."

"But he trades another life for mine," the princess said.

"A trade I myself agree to," in the doorway, the dragon appeared, who had managed to not only find their room, but shadow Tau'Gir without arousing suspicion, "even if I don't like it."

"You jest," the princess' voice grew thick.

"No matter how it's spun, I'm around when bad shit happens," he looked at Aszara, who couldn't help but cast a guilty look sideways, "It's better this way," Kitana wanted to correct him, but he paid her no attention, not out of hate, but to spare her from an emotional collapse, "Kilamon, when do we leave?"

"Two weeks from this day forward," he said, "I am to relieve the Edenians guarding the competitors. The tournament starts a week from now officially, but we're just here to see the end."

"Mhm," was all Chronos had to say, "Guess I have to prepare for when the day comes."

The dragon left the room, the princess almost compelled to follow him, but her ebony bodyguard held onto her to make sure her verbal rage would not be directed to the man whose life was being thrown into the devil's pit. The mammoth requested the parchment of results from Tau'Gir, who did not object to a closer look. His eyes scanned the results, a faint idea popping into his mind, a seed of doubt. Something about the results did not sit right, did not make sense, unless he considered one option, one he wouldn't have considered in a long time.

" _Unless…"_

* * *

And so, the day of judgement arrives.

He had been informed how long he was to stay- a day and a night, with the tournament concluding on the very same night- so he took little else but some food and drink. The atmosphere in the city had grown exponentially tense, civilians barring up their windows and doors, almost three times the guards marching around, escape plans handed to families in spades. It was awfully dreading to walk into the lion's den for the first time with only cursory knowledge from a couple books and Kilamon's teachings.

Outworld was apparently a horrid, dusty world with man-eating trees and deserts reaching from one sea to the other, its inhabitants mutants, freaks and beasts that had little to no regard for mortal life. Its salesmen peddled whatever they could get their greedy hands on, and its warriors had a knack for clashing with anyone whose faces didn't suit them. At least he wouldn't be there for more than a long day.

Dressed in nothing more than some modest leather pants and a brown cloak, carrying his small sack of supplies, he left the Academy grounds behind, one last look to give him something to think about while he was on enemy ground. He was glad he wasn't alone, but it was nevertheless a daunting task.

The portal to Outworld was located close to the bottom of the stairs to the palace, so he made sure to waste no time getting there. The location of the portal was a simple garden, a bench or on the edge of it, a beautiful bed of roses on the edge of the river flowing beneath the bridge, which was almost towers above the water. Taking a seat, he burrowed his hands into one another, rolling around his shoulders every so often to keep his restless body from locking up.

He heard the tapping of heels on marble behind him, and without looking, the gait belonged to none other than the caramel-skinned beauty. But even then, he found no joy in seeing a friendly face keeping him company for only a fleeting moment. She took a seat beside the goliath, their moods almost in sync.

"It has been quite a turbulent couple of months, has it not?" the dragon responded with a muted hum, "It is such a shame your extended introduction to our folk has been in a time of strife and discord," he didn't respond, "You are quiet."

"Not a lot to talk about, really," he said, "I'm walking into the devil's home, and all I can do is watch as your world might be lost forever," he let a smile force its way on his face, "A peachy day, overall."

"Hah," a breathy laugh escaped the bodyguard's lips, "If only you had a day more," she sunk her head lower, "This day feels like quite a deja vu."

"How so?" he asked.

She took a couple of deep breaths before talking, "The final day of the tournament. The Koliseum was filled to the brim with spectators from every edge of Outworld. And within that Koliseum, my father stood, his staff proud in hand," she conjured her staff, gripping it tightly, its green energy flowing through, "Challenger after challenger, my father was tested to his fullest, until he faced the very tyrant himself," the name was like a curse, " _Shao Kahn,"_ she let the apparent foulness of those words subside before going on, "His hammer of death rained down upon my father, but for those precious seconds, death would not claim him, and his staff clashed with the hammer in a battle that saved my home. That saved my people," she began tearing up.

"I guess your father didn't make it home," her bloodshot eyes met his, his visage so much softer than usual, it threw her off balance, "What about your mother? Other family?"

"My brother was gone a year before the tournament started," venom laced her voice, "a coward who left his family behind to burn," her scowl turned into a sorrowful frown, "My mother died while giving birth to me. I only heard her give me my name," she smiled, "Her voice was as soothing as the warm summer wind, and when I would travel, I would always think of her voice, even if that is all I had."

He wiped away her tears, "I'm sorry for your loss. I'd like to say I knew what it was like, but I'd be lying," she gave him a small side hug, "At least I had a family that could be proud of me."

"Who says I do not have one?" she stared up at the palace, almost hidden by the huge rock wall, before looking back at the dragon, "As I said, I wish your first acquaintance with our world was different."

For maybe the first time in forever, a genuine smile crept across his face, broad and goofy in relation to the rest of his face, "Well, my first introduction was also not as smooth as I'd had hoped," he said. Aside from making him look less like a gargoyle, his smile showed his surprisingly large canines, but she couldn't comment before heavy steps behind her interrupted her thoughts. Both looked to see the mammoth, flanked by a mage on each side. While the mages began preparing the portal to Outworld, Kilamon approached the pair, who in turn stood up to greet him, one with a bow, the other with a nod.

"Ah, I forget, etiquette was never properly introduced to you," the overseer joked.

"Just not in my blood," the behemoth replied, and Kilamon gave a small, harmless nudge, "No one else to come and say goodbye?"

"Both Aszara and Tau'Gir have been working overtime in escape plans and gaining access to Seido and Earthrealm," he continued, "they've been successful so far, but the Seidans have been a bit stingy about some parts of the agreement. Nothing to concern ourselves with now," he looked at the ebony goddess, "as for the rest…"

Jade turned to the dragon, "Our esteemed royal Princess would not wish to see you leave and not return. She cannot stomach it."

"I understand," was his only response, but Kilamon chipped in.

"Don't worry, Chronos will come back without a scratch on him," he guaranteed. The mages had stabilised a portal to the world beyond, its blue energy swirling violently, "This it it. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," the dragon replied. With a quick bow towards the emerald bodyguard, both the mammoth and the dragon approached the portal, with the latter's beating of his heart a bit higher than comfortable. The portal's oppressive aura encompassed Chronos whole, giving him dizziness all the while. It only lasted two seconds, but on the other end, the behemoth had grown almost nauseous from the travel to another realm. Kilamon was much less affected, only having slight goosebumps from the feeling.

Recovering from the sickness, the dragon could lay his eyes on this new world. They were in a building, its stony sand-coloured walls mildly cracked, wooden beams overhead and a couple of windows allowing light to flow inside. It was bright, the rays showing just how much dust was in the air, the weather somehow even warmer than in Edenia. They walked outside to a bustling little village, citizens in modest attire scuffling about, basket of fruits in their hands, bundles of rye on their shoulders.

Kilamon had fetched a map from his pocket, scanning it to see which direction he had to go, "We have to walk a couple streets south and find a red residence" he put away the map and turned to the dragon, "we relieve the others there."

They started to walk, and one thing Chronos noticed during their short journey was the height of the Outworlders. Aside from the four-armed beasts that matched his height, the rest were frighteningly short, not exceeding six feet most of the time. It got him looks too, and even Kilamon, who stood shorter than the dragon, was a giant compared to the natives.

They reached the red residence, which had a more familiar-looking man standing in front, dressed in a purple robe with gold trimmings. The purple-clad man noticed the duo approaching him, "Ah, I would recognise your headdress from anywhere, Kilamon," he inspected the goliath next to the mammoth, "Who is this?"

"A companion," the overseer explained, "Courtesy of our King, he was forced to accompany me to the final hours of the tournament. I surmise you were not informed."

"No, although with this relatively last-minute change I doubt he had any intent to," the Edenian said.

"Not quite," the mammoth replied. The trio entered the house, a modest living room occupied by maybe four people greeting them when they entered.

"You're our relief?" a woman said, with the overseer nodding, "So I guess we're going back home?"

"Indeed," Kilamon replied, "I do need a rundown of our current situation."

The woman took a deep breath before speaking, "It's looking bad. Lots of contestants couldn't get past the first round, and only two made it past the second just barely. We're looking at losing it all tonight," she was as composed as she could be.

"I understand," the mammoth said, "I suggest you join our kinsmen in creating escape plans for the civilians. I doubt the Emperor will be any more merciless than he already is."

She chortled, "I don't doubt," she gestured for the others to prepare their leave, "I wish you both luck. You're damn well going to need it."

"Likewise," Kilamon said, "See you on the other side."

Both gave each other a bow while the rest of the Edenians present conjured a portal. Chronos only though how eerily calm and collected both his companion and the woman were regarding this whole situation. Thousands, tens of thousands of souls on the line in a fighting tournament. He'd hate for his home- _home?_ \- to be in that kind of position, but maybe home was already on the verge of total conquest.

"Chronos," the mammoth broke his train of thought, "are you feeling well?"

The dragon's voice was softer than usual, "Yeah, yeah, just…"

"Come. Sit," Kilamon beckoned him to the chairs, to which the goliath obliged without delay. As the other group of Edenians vanished along with their portal, the mammoth strolled around, looking for something to serve, "Would you mind some chamomile tea?"

"I wouldn't mind," Chronos replied. The overseer poured some water in a kettle and fetched a heat rune from the cabinet, activating it and placing the kettle on it. He was always keeping the dragon in the corner of his eye to gauge his mood, which was somewhere between uncertain and perplexed. He was staring out of the window, his eyes following every oddity he could find.

"You seem quite perplexed at the moment," he said, and the dragon hummed in response, "Why?"

He looked at the mammoth, who was busy preparing the tea, "Lots of different kinds of people out there. People looking like you and me, four-armed jacked dragon-like dudes, actual dragon people, and… elves?"

"Yes, elves," Kilamon replied, "I reckon they are not commonplace in Earthrealm?"

Chronos chuckled, "We don't even think they're real. Just like dragons and witches and magic and whatever. Why are there only Edenians where we live?"

"Ah, the races you see here come from minor realms," Kilamon explained. The kettle began whistling, "The Emperor of Outworld has an insatiable hunger for conquest, and these people are the remnants of their home, now subjugated by the iron fist of Shao Kahn."

"Sounds awful," Chronos said, and the overseer, now pouring tea, laughed in agreement.

"Yes, it is not preferable to their independence," he brought over the tea to his companion, who took the cup from his hands, "Many of the races conquered enjoy second class citizen rights, with some faring even worse. Naknada, draconids, trolls, anything not fiercely and unyieldingly loyal to the Emperor is treated with as much respect as the cattle that roams the farms," the overseer took his seat.

"And the rest?" Chronos asked.

"They at the very least are treated like expendable resources rather than actual waste, but it is only so much better," he replied. Both were sipping on their tea, watching the sun slowly set, "It's going to be a turbulent transition when the Emperor gets what he wants."

"You assume Outworld wins?" the dragon asked, and Kilamon's lamentation was more than telling.

"I only assume the worst because that is the most likely outcome," he said, "I wish for the stars to align so our doom is evaded, but the idealist within me cannot ignore the realist. We simply don't have the warriors the Emperor has at his disposal, and they will be the first deaths to herald a new era for Edenia."

"A beautiful, lush realm ruled by a conquering tyrant," the Earthrealmer mused, "I don't think Edenia will be the same."

"No doubt," Kilamon responded. He had finished his tea and went to get another, "Although I don't think Shao Kahn has all the information he needs about Edenia to create a sweeping takeover and effortless merger."

"How come?" the brown-haired man asked.

"The Mistmarch," he clarified, "In order to successfully merge realms, the invading party must control a significantly large enough part of the realm to merge without natural disasters tearing both realms apart. Unfortunately for him, I doubt the Vrykal are going to surrender their world without a fight. Their culture and ethics demand an honourable death."

"Know an awful lot about them," Chronos remarked, and Kilamon grunted in acknowledgement.

"I know that they carve monumental events in history in temples erected for that specific part of history alone," he stood up, "I know that they do not attack the innocent and defenceless because there is no victory in vanquishing an opponent who is already defeated," he sauntered to a window, looking at the much less crowded streets, "I know that they place much more value upon the preservation of arts and history than we may believe," he faced Chronos, who was still sitting down, "And I also know they wear the trophies of their eternal hunt as headdresses."

The dragon was remarkably silent. Not even a shift in countenance. Just an empty, meaningless stare.

"Nothing to say?" the mammoth asked.

"Too late now to have anything relevant to ask," he said. Kilamon was not quite satisfied with his response, so he detached a bit of his armoured arm, revealing a brand, just like the Mark on the Earthrealmer's chest, "What's your point?"

Kilamon grew a tad irate, "My point is that we don't know everything about one another, and that appearances are deceiving. You and I are much more alike than you think."

"That is true," Chronos replied, "Which makes it all the more ironic you think I'm like you."

"How so then?" the mammoth challenged.

"Because you fought for your people. Fight for you people," he rose up from his seat.

"And you do not?" Kilamon had no time to start an argument however; a bellowing horn signalled the start of the tournament's final hour, the sun outside slowly giving way for a full moon casting its soft, blue light on the sands of Outworld. Neither of them had any intention to get into a heated discussion during the apex of the tournament, so the kept mostly silent during their trip, save for the mammoth telling the dragon where to go, "There is a portal that will take us to the Koliseum, where the remaining two Edenian contestants will meet us. After that, it's only a short walk."

Chronos only gave an agreeing huff, not willing to let the tension lose any strength. An uncomfortable walk without even looks spared later, they arrived at the portal, which was bustling with men and women from all the lands, which included two rather vividly dressed men, each purple-clad and brandishing symbols of Edenia. One of them, a gold-haired, blue-eyed Adonis, approached them with a forced smile on his visage.

"Greetings Kilamon," he eyed the behemoth standing next to him, "I do not recognise your partner."

The mammoth took a quick look at his companion, "He's a last-minute addition to our crew."

"Hm, why?" the Edenian asked, and the dragon answered.

"Personal grievances," was his short response, and the gold-haired man did not investigate any further. The three of them joined up with the other Edenian man, gold-haired as well, but his hair was much shorter and his eyes were a faint shade of green. All of them stepped through the portal, greeted on the other side by the gigantic structure that was the Koliseum. Ah, it reminded the Earthrealmer of the Roman Coliseum in Italy, but slightly more sinister. Statues of the Emperor dotted the outside rim of the arena, and the banners of his empire fluttered in the wind.

The quartet approached the massive iron gates, opening slowly and with so much crunching and cranking it was a wonder it didn't just come crashing down again. They stepped into the Koliseum, pits, beasts and a roaring audience greeting them. In the centre stood a throne of rock, large enough to accommodate a superhumanly large creature, but instead, it accommodated a ruler that didn't match the size of the throne. His dragon-like arms laid atop the armrests, and his crimson red armour with gold accentuations shone in the light of the torches. Around him stood a large group of individuals, most notably a huge centaur-like being that towered over the rest of the people present, an insectoid-looking woman and a six-armed, greens-skinned goblin, clasping his backpack tightly.

The entire group of people watched the Edenians slowly walk their way to the site of their foregone defeat, "Gentlemen, welcome to the final hour of this monumental tournament," the emperor greeted them affably enough, "I surmise the two gold-haired Edenians are the last competitors to defend their realm?"

The two Edenian men stepped forward before the throne, while the overseer and the dragon kept a healthier distance between them and the Kahn.

"It has been six millennia since I was in this position," he said, "and yet, still I wish it was as exhilarating now as it was in the past. There is no joy in squashing an already wounded enemy," his affability had given away for smug satisfaction in no less than fifteen seconds, "which is why I intend to entice the audience with a more exciting match. The last two competitors remaining will both be facing one of my trusted enforcers… Kintaro!"

From a dark corner of the arena, a four-armed tiger man emerged, armed with nothing more than his claws, dressed in only the bare necessities. He sauntered towards the two contestants, flexing his muscles all the while, earning an encouraging bellow from the crowd. He stood before the two smaller men, assuming his stance, "It has been long since I have faced a challenge," he smirked, "and it seems I must wait another eon before I do so."

The two Edenians assumed their stance as well, one of them coalescing wind in his hands. They stood at the ready, desperate to give it their all, and the emperor waited a precious few seconds before uttering the word.

" _Fight!_ " and without hesitation, the tiger leapt upon the two men, who both stepped out of the way just in time to not get crushed under the four-armed behemoth's paws. The green-eyed Edenian started to toss miniature whirlwinds to destabilise the huge enforcer, while the blue-eyed man lit his hands aflame and started pummelling on the brute. Kintaro, as huge and muscular as he was, ignored the small puffs of wind and focused on blocking the smaller man's volley of strikes. His fire singed the fur, and his punches bruised the cat's forearms. A huge overhand from the beast was narrowly avoided by the Edenian, who continued his relentless attack.

The tiger grew quite sick of the man's feeble attempts to harm him, so he simply grabbed him by the hand with his upper arms and by his hips with his lower arms and tossed the smaller man over his head, sending him plummeting down on the warm sand, the impact sending jolts of pain throughout his body. With the blue-eyed man temporarily disabled, the tiger focused his attention on the wind tosser. He slapped a few of those whirlwinds out of his way with his hands before spewing a fireball in the Edenian's direction, who used a small shock-wave to disperse the fireball. He narrowly avoided the brute, who had jumped up sky high and tried to crush the man under his feet.

So close to the four-armed beast, the Edenian empowered his kicks with the strength of gale winds and started kicking away at the huge tiger. The force of these kick was enough to make Kintaro wince mildly, but nowhere near enough to topple him over. The Edenian gave it his all, but the tiger managed, in between the flurry of kicks, to grab the green-eyed man's left leg. With a mighty uppercut from his two right arms, the tiger sent the Edenian flying across the stage of the fight, landing beside his fellow contestant, who himself had managed to get up again.

The tiger wasted no time advancing on the smaller man, who was fervently lobbing balls of fire to slow the tiger's advance in vain. Kintaro easily swatted away the small gouts of flame while closing in the distance between him and his victim. The other Edenian managed to stand up and began combining his winds with his ally's fire, turning the mostly harmless projectiles in raging infernal tornadoes, which the four-armed creature did have to dodge. And yet, even their combined might was not enough to stall the great beast's pace.

With the tiger in both their faces, the Edenian pair each threw a punch, but the tiger caught them without issue with his upper arms before he gut punched the duo with his lower arms so much force it lifted them off the ground. The green-eyed man crumpled while his companion weakly struggled to do something, anything to keep hope from dying, but a heavy hand bopped him on the top of his head put him out of commission for the rest of the fight. The duo were unable to recover from the internal damage they sustained, with both bleeding from their mouths, struggling to breathe.

The emperor's smirk grew obscenely broad before he spoke those final words.

" _Finish them._ "

The tiger was quick to stomp down on the blue-eyed Edenian, his breath warming up the inside of his throat before spewing his breath of fire, roasting the hapless man, who screamed in pain for a couple seconds before his breath ran out. Kintaro marched over to the last remaining competitor, picked him up by the neck and growled in his face before ramming his upper right arm through his victim's chest, while punching straight through his stomach with his lower right arm. With both of them, he grabbed the Edenian's spine and tore him apart as slow as he could, savouring the howls of his defenceless opponent. The upper half of the Edenian's body almost flew out of the tiger's hands. The beast tossed each piece to opposite sides, with the torso landing right at Kilamon's feet.

"Kintaro wins," Shao Kahn spoke, "Fatality."

The emperor rose from his throne, hands crossed over his moderately scaled chest, revelling in his victory.

"It is done," he proclaimed, "Edenia is mine to have."

Both the overseer and the dragon became surrounded by the emperor's soldiers, each with a sword in hand.

"I see you never intended to uphold the terms of the tournament once you had what you wanted," Kilamon mocked, but the tyrant's laugh shook the pillars of the arena.

"On the contrary, my esteemed Edenian," he debunked, "it is the terms I intend to uphold," a smile graced his face once more, "but the terms have changed."

"I was not informed when," Kilamon replied, "changed as of now?"

"Changed when your King was desperate to rid himself of a pest," he happily announced, "a pest you have brought with you."

Looks were shared with each other, the dragon's minor ire replaced by sheer anger and the mammoth shared his disposition towards their righteous King. With as much haste as he could, he fetched something from his pocket and gave it to Chronos, who took it with equal haste.

"The incantation, markings and markers for the portal back to Edenia," Kilamon explained, "When you can, you run and don't look back, no objections."

A small grunt from the dragon was all the mammoth needed.

"The assassin who failed at his task did mention you were… _stubborn_ ," the emperor noted, "which, of course, gives me more than enough right to assume you will defy my will."

"Bingo," the Earthrealmer replied, "so come and get me, _bitch_."

The emperor grinned, "Kill the other, bring the boy to me."

Without hesitation, the mammoth summoned a huge battleaxe from thin air and thrust it into the ground, a miniature quake knocking everyone but the sturdiest off of their feet. While the emperor initiated kombat with the Edenian, Chronos didn't waste a milliseconds bolting it for the gate, which was closed but rusted as well. Before him appeared the insectoid woman, her buzzing flies congregating around her.

"Your escape ends he-," she didn't expect the Earthrealmer to just barrel through her with his shoulder, his sheer weight toppling her over, trampling over her shoulder which was crushed under his feet, chitinous shell cracking under the pressure. A small yelp escaped her throat while the dragon continued his speeding escape. The closed gate was no match for the Earthrealmer that crashed through it using much of his power, bits of metal flying everywhere while he scoured the area for an escape. The portal he arrived through was still open, but crowded with people. He would never reach it in time through just running with the horde of monsters on his heels.

Charging up as much power as he could muster, his being cloaked in solar energy, thunderbolts crackling across his skin, he prepared to psycho crush right through the crowd, but the sounds caused the crowd to disperse as fast as they could. With a small hop, he spiralled towards the portal with ludicrous speed, popping out on the other side with so much power it knocked everyone was on the other side of the portal away. In the confusion of the crowd, Chronos managed to sneak in an alleyway, just before the guards showed up.

Climbing up to a roof utilising some strenuous parkour skills, he retrieved the small piece of parchment from his pockets, hastily reading the incantation and trying to get the markers for the markings, but his hands were unable to grip them properly. He was struck by a pair of arrows in the back before he could even calm down. Putting the tools back in his pocket and running for his life, he jumped down from the rooftops onto a plaza, where there were a bunch of citizens gathered for last-minute shopping. Tagged by another pair of arrows, one in his shoulder and one in his calve, the dragon limped away from his assailants only to find assailants all around him.

He was stuck. No way out.

The soldiers and guards slowly encroached upon him, bows at the ready, swords gleaming in the moonlight and torches still burning. The people slowly made their distance from the whole situation, but close enough to stay and watch the ordeal. Their black armour began melding together, a coalesced entity slowly imprisoning him in what he could only figure was either death or eternal torture. The whispers of desperation gnawed at his soul, begging to give it his all, egging him on to do whatever it takes.

Raising his left hand high, a small ball of orange light began gathering in it, lightning crackling about, dancing across his arms, small flakes of skin separating from his arm. The ball grew bigger and bigger, until bolts of ethereal fire from the stars empowered it even more. Arrows and bolts dissolved in the air, gusts of wind originating from the dragon keeping anyone away from him. The light grew so bright it blinded everyone around, and Chronos' own arm began ripping itself apart.

" _My power,_ "

 _No choice._

" _reaches,"_

 _No choice._

" _beyond the **stars**."_

 _Always a choice._

His hand struck the earth with cataclysmic power, a slow wave of solar death creeping outward from him. Sand turned to glass, wood became charred, metal grew red-hot. Time was slowing down tremendously, every agonising second finely imprinted upon Chronos' mind. The soldiers and guards began dissolving, flesh and skin giving way to bone, their corpses still standing in the vacuum of time. A mother clutching her babe stared in fear, mere fractions of seconds before she and everyone else were vaporised by the atrocious amount of power. The wave of death spread to the edges of the village, discriminating not between man or woman, child or elder, dragon or elf. The torches were blown out, the only thing casting light being the moon in the deep of space.

Collapsing, but still waking, the dragon was on his hands and knees, his breath heavy, his left arm covered in deep gashes and torn wounds. He looked around, the thickness of the blue mist, dust and ash making it almost impossible to make out the silhouettes that stood in place. Rising to his feet, choking on his own breath, he neared the shadowy figures, only to find them but skeletons, frozen in place, their bones almost like glass. The sand underneath his feet, glass. He approached the skeletal mother, holding onto her skeleton child with all her might. Kneeling beside it, he touched her skull, which toppled off of the rest of her body, shattering on impact. The dragon threw his hands in his hair, which was laden with ash from the innocent.

An endless breath whispered in his ear, his own became so thick he felt like his lungs were being pressed together by concrete blocks. Behind the mother, a mildly charred map of Outworld hung, its size without equal, its only true blemish being the dragon's shadow cast upon it. He ruffled the pockets of his pants and found the tools still intact and grabbed the huge map, flipping it over so he could etch the markings for the portal on it. With trembling hands an an ungodly thick breath, he managed to finally create the portal, its inviting warmth clashing with the cold death radiating from the blue mist.

He stepped through, possibly more sick than he ever could be, greeted by the cool breeze of Edenia's peaceful gardens. The garden was filled to the brim with people, including the overseers from the Academy, the heir to the throne and her bodyguard. Their eyes glistened with hope, but the wounded Earthrealmer returning all alone obliterated that hope without remorse. The portal behind him closed, and the overseers wasted no time rallying the people away.

"Everyone to their homes and take everything you can," Tau'Gir shouted, "and do not delay."

While everyone was busy running back to their homes, Aszara ran over to the dragon who looked like he was about to keel over from asphyxiation, "What happened to you?! Where's Kilamon?!"

His eyes met hers, but he just wasn't the same.

" _What happened?!_ " she shook him by his arms, his towering figure smaller than ever.

"He, he stayed… behind," he broke himself loose from her grip, but she was not done.

"What do you mean 'he stayed behind'?!" she shouted, "He wasn't supposed to stay behind, the terms set by the tournament itself-"

"The terms changed," anger laced his voice, with Tau'Gir running over to join the questioning.

"Your hair, it is ashen," he noted, "fire and brimstone used to prevent your escape? Did they char and burn your arm as well?"

His voice meek, he replied, "Yeah. Something like that."

"The terms," Aszara calmed herself down, "Who changed them?"

He took the deepest breath he could, "The King did."

Tau'Gir did not miss a beat, "That is a lie."

"It's as much a lie as Kilamon's alive right now," the female overseer was not pleased.

"Shut it, you left him behind," she managed to stand taller than him, "Pretty cowardly to do," she hoped for him to tell her the truth, to reveal what he really did, but his empty eyes conveyed the truth both overseers wanted to deny. Both of them ran towards the royal pair, who were helping the people back to their homes, surprised by the sudden appearance of the overseers. They started shouting and pointing fingers at one another, Chronos included, who was still standing there, inspecting his torn left arm.

The breathless whispering still remained.

* * *

author: new chapter here

reader, realising it's not mk11 harem: my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined

Holy hell, feels like eternity since I uploaded a chapter, so, uh yeah, new chapter here. Review, rate, inflate its rotten tomatoes score, do whatever. Apologies if there are any errors.

\- The Ice Man Cometh

p.s.: MK11 story sucked big pp, don't message me.

Pot calling the kettle black, but whatever, that's how it is.


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